New Jersey
| Summary Demographic State Data (and Source) | |
|---|---|
| Population (2008 CB est): | 8,682,661 |
| Population (2000 Census): | 8,414,350 |
| Foreign-Born Population (2008 FAIR est): | 1,789,925 |
| Foreign-Born Population (2000 Census): | 1,476,327 |
| Share Foreign-Born (2008 FAIR estimate): | 20.6% |
| Share Foreign-Born (2000): | 17.5% |
| Immigrant Stock (2000 CB estiamte): | 2,360,000 |
| Share Immigrant Stock (2000 estimate): | 28.0% |
| Naturalized U.S. Citizens (2006 CB est.): | 847,665 |
| Share Naturalized (2006): | 48.3% |
| Legal Immigrant Admission (DHS 1997-2006): | 481,140 |
| Refugee Admission (DHS 1997-2006): | 11,763 |
| Illegal Alien Population (2008 FAIR est): | 490,000 |
| Cost of Illegal Aliens - (2007 FAIR): | $2,100,000,000 |
| Projected 2050 Population - (2006 FAIR): | 15,543,405 |
New Jersey: Census Bureau Data
STATE POPULATION
Using the Current Population Survey, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that in July 2008 New Jersey’s population had increased to 8,682,661 residents, i.e., an annual average increase of about 32,325 residents since 2000. That is a rate of increase of about 0.4 percent per year.
NET INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION (NIM)
Based on the Current Population Survey, the Census Bureau estimated that between the 2000 Census and July 2008 the state’s population increased by about 384,685 residents from net international migration (more foreign-born arriving than leaving). That was an annual average increase of about 52,790 residents, i.e., more than the total increase (143%), and this does not include the children born to the immigrants after their arrival in the United States).
The 2000 Census found 8,414,350 persons resident in New Jersey. This was an increase of 684,162 persons (8.9%) above the 1990 Census. The amount of increase was the 14th highest in the country. The rate of increase was, however, not among the 25 fastest increasing populations in the country.
The 2000 population is about 236,000 more persons than the Census Bureau had expected to find in the state in 2000 when it issued its most recent state population projections in 1996. The significance of this is that the Census Bureau has concluded that much of the shortfall in their population estimates during the 1990s was due to an underestimation of the illegal alien population.
FOREIGN-BORN POPULATION
Based on the American Community Survey (ACS), the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that the foreign-born population of New Jersey was 1,711,524 persons in 2006. The ACS is a large-scale, continuous sampling process designed to replace the need for a long-form in the 2010 Census. However, because the ACS does not have the same follow-up procedures as the Census to include non-respondents, it may underestimate the foreign-born population.
FAIR estimates that the foreign-born population of New Jersey was about 1,789,925 residents in July 2008. This meant a foreign-born population share of 20.6 percent. The amount of change since the 2000 Census indicates an average annual rate of increase in the foreign-born population of about 37,785 people, which is more than the total (116.9%) of the state’s annual average population increase. Since 2000, the foreign-born population has increased by 21.2 percent compared to a 0.7 percent decrease in the native-born population.
Immigration also contributes to population growth through the children born to immigrants in this country. Nationally the share of births to the foreign-born is about double their share of the population. A 41.2 percent share of the state’s current births is large enough to account for about 46,335 births a year. Combining the increase in the foreign-born population and estimated immigrant births suggests that immigration may account for nearly 84,000 persons added to the state’s population annually, i.e., more than double (260.3%) the state’s overall population increase.
A comparison of the increase in the immigrant population since 1990 with the change in the overall population during the same period shows that immigrant settlement directly accounted for nearly three-quarters (74.5%) of the state's overall population increase over that decade. The effect of immigration on population change is still greater when the children of the immigrants born here after their arrival are included with their immigrant parents in the calculation. The amount of the overall impact of immigration (immigrants plus their children) on population change is likely to be closer to 91 percent, which is based on the increase in the share of those who speak a language other than English at home in New Jersey.
The 2000 Census found that 41.6 percent of New Jersey' foreign-born population had arrived in the state since 1990. This demonstrates the effects of the current mass immigration, and it is slightly lower than the national average (43.7%).
An indicator of the change in the immigrant population may be seen in data on the share of the population that speaks a language other than English at home. Between 1990 and 2000 the share of non-English speakers at home in New Jersey increased by over three-tenths, from 19.5 percent to 25.7 percent. Less than half (43.6%) of those who said they spoke a language other than English at home in 2000 also said they spoke English less than very well.
| Speakers of Foreign Languages (at home in New Jersey in the 2000 Census) | |
| Spanish | 967,700 |
| Italian | 116,365 |
| Polish | 74,665 |
| Portuguese | 72,835 |
| Tagalog | 66,850 |
| Chinese | 66,415 |
| Korean | 55,340 |
| Gujarathi | 47,325 |
| Arabic | 47,050 |
| French | 45,675 |
| (Source: Census Bureau report: Language Spoken at Home for the Population 5 Years and Over, April 2004) | |
The Census Bureau’s American Community Survey found that in 2006, the foreign born population was 1,754,253 residents, an increase of 18.8% percent since 2000. In comparison, the foreign-born population changed from 966,610 to 1,476,327 residents between 1990 and 2000, an increase of 52.7 percent.
The ten countries below constituted approximately 41.3% of the foreign-born population in New Jersey in 2006. Of the total foreign born population, India, Mexico, and the Philippines (the top three) accounted approximately one-fifth (21.8) alone.
| Foreign-Born Change: Top Ten Countries 1990-2006 | ||||||||
| Rank | Country | 1990 | Country | 2000 | Country | 2006 | ||
| 1 | Italy | 70,451 | India | 119,497 | India | 172,959 | ||
| 2 | Cuba | 62,867 | Dominican Republic | 91,316 | Mexico | 126,488 | ||
| 3 | India | 52,347 | Philippines | 69,773 | Philippines | 82,356 | ||
| 4 | Germany | 42,249 | Colombia | 69,754 | Korea | 65,962 | ||
| 5 | Colombia | 40,404 | Mexico | 67,667 | China | 65,292 | ||
| 6 | Poland | 39,305 | China | 66,424 | Italy | 51,618 | ||
| 7 | Philippines | 39,108 | Italy | 58,395 | Cuba | 47,248 | ||
| 8 | Dominican Republic | 35,660 | Poland | 55,466 | Jamaica | 40,482 | ||
| 9 | Portugal | 35,269 | Cuba | 55,241 | Brazil | 37,242 | ||
| 10 | United Kingdom | 34,073 | Korea | 51,970 | El Slavador | 34,367 | ||
| All Other | 514,887 | All Others | 770,824 | All Others | 1,030,239 | |||
| Total | 966,610 | Total | 1,476,327 | Total | 724,014 | |||
THE IMMIGRANT STOCK
The Census Bureau estimated that there were about 2,360,000 people in New Jersey in 1997 who were "immigrant stock." That is a term that refers to immigrants and their children born here after their arrival. Based on that estimate, and a population of 8,414,350, the immigrant stock share of the state's population was 28 percent -- the sixth largest share in the country.
As the graph below shows, the amount of New Jersey’s population change due to the increase in the foreign stock is rising rapidly. Over the past 34 years the new immigrants and children born to them have added about 2,066,600 people to the population. Over this period, the increase in the foreign stock has accounted for all of the state’s population increase and then some (134.8%), because the state had a net loss of native-born residents.
NATURALIZATION
Data from the 2006 American Community Survey indicate that 847,665 residents, or 48.3 percent, of the foreign-born population in New Jersey were citizens, compared to 682,304 residents, or 46.2 percent, in 2000.
Nationally, 40.3 percent of the foreign-born population was citizens in 2000 and 42.0 percent were citizens in 2006.
POPULATION PROJECTION
New Jersey -- Projected Population in 2050: Projection Scenarios
| Amnesty+ | High-trend | Low-trend | Zero-net |
| 15,543,405 | 14,287,532 | 13,442,516 | 9,584,326 |
New Jersey's projected population in 2050 could range anywhere from about 9.6 million residents to over 15.5 million. The nearly 6 million difference between these alternatives depends on whether policies aimed at immigration stability are adopted or, instead, currently advocated policies that would accommodate today's illegal alien population, allow a new stream of guest workers and increase legal immigration are adopted.
Without any change in immigration policy or enforcement, i.e., with the current trend in large-scale legal and illegal immigration, the state's population is likely to increase from today's about 8.8 million residents to around 13 to 14 million persons in 2050 - an increase of 53 to 62 percent.
The largest difference from the current trend comes in comparison with a zero-net immigration scenario (when arriving immigrants balance those who are departing). In that case, the population would still grow, but more modestly by 10 percent. However, if the currently proposed immigration expansion and illegal alien accommodation proposals were adopted - the amnesty/guest worker/immigration increase scenario - the increase in the projected population over the next 45 years would soar by about 76 percent.
New Jersey -- Projected Population in 2050: Cohorts
| 1970 Pop. | Post-'70 Stock | Legal Post-'04 | Illegal Post-'04 | Amnesty+ |
| 6,548,812 | 3,035,515 | 3,507,323 | 1,195,882 | 1,255,873 |
The projection indicates that the population that was already in the country in 1970 - before the effects of the 1965 major change in immigration law - will be relatively constant in New Jersey, dropping slightly by about 60,000 persons (less than 1%) over the next 45 years. This trend reflects some net out-migration to other states.
The post-1970 immigrant cohort is projected to grow by about 943,000 residents (45%) by 2050. The high rate of growth is influenced by the larger average family size of these immigrants to the state. At the beginning of the projection, this post-1970 immigrant cohort already accounted for more than 2 million of the state's residents. By 2050, this cohort is projected to rise to more than 3 million residents simply on the basis of succeeding generations being larger than that of their forebears.
Without any change in the immigration laws, current mass immigration will continue to add to the state's population. New Jersey has had an average of more than 45,500 legal immigrant admissions per year between 1994 and 2003. We project that immigration from Asian countries will continue to constitute more than two-fifths (41%) of the immigrant admissions. More than 30 percent have been Dominicans, Columbians, Peruvians and other immigrants from Spanish-speaking, leaving immigration from countries with predominantly white populations at about 16 percent, and about 12 percent from countries with black populations in Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America. We project that new immigrants and their children from all sources will add more than 3.5 million residents to the state's population over the next 45 years if current trends remain unchanged.
We estimate that New Jersey's illegal alien population now numbers more than 350,000 persons. The continued addition of illegal immigrants over the next 45 years, assuming it continues at current rates, is projected to add nearly 1.2 million persons to the population from newcomers and their offspring.
Finally, we project that proposals for amnesty and other provision that are currently being advocated, if adopted, would add more than a further nearly 1.2 million persons to the state's population over the next 45 years. This would result from the family members of amnesty recipients, increased legal immigration, and increased long-term guest worker residents.
New Jersey -- Projected Population in 2050: Demographic Change
| White, not Hispanic | Mexican | Other Hispanic | Black | Asian | Other |
| 5,490,576 | 1,085,830 | 3,917,568 | 2,307,460 | 2,595,610 | 146,361 |
The rate of population change for the various scenarios depends on the size and demographic composition of the influx of immigrants, and the differential rates of fertility. The following projections are based on the highest scenario, i.e., amnesty/guestworker increases.
If current trends continue, the Asian population is projected rise sharply - adding more than 1.9 million residents - an increase of 279 percent. The Mexican population is projected to rise even faster - by 633 percent (nearly 940,000 persons), and other Hispanics are projected to add even more - about 2.7 million residents (227%).
Over the period of this projection, the black population grows by about 1.1 million people (95%) and non-Hispanic whites largely remain unchanged in number, but represent a decreasing share of the state's population.
New Jersey: Extended Immigration Data
REFUGEE SETTLEMENT
New Jersey has received 11,763 refugees over the most recent ten fiscal years (FY'97-'06), with 654 arriving in FY’06.
Under the Office of Refugee Resettlement's (HHS/ORR) assistance funding for FY'02 $1,417,251 is available for refugee employment training and other services programs in New Jersey based on a three-year refugee settlement program covering 5,647 refugees (an average of $251 per refugee). This allocation does not include a larger share (55%) of funding programs for communities heavily affected by recent Cuban and Haitian entrants, communities with refugees whose cultural differences make assimilation especially difficult, communities impacted by federal welfare reform changes, educational support to schools with significant refugee students, and discretionary grants. ORR grants for FY’05 and FY’06 respectively were $4,028,118 and $3,498,299.
IMMIGRANT CHILDREN
In 2000 more than one-quarter of all of New Jersey's children are either foreign born or the child of an immigrant. Six percent are first-generation immigrants (foreign born) and 21 percent are second-generation (a child of an immigrant).
(Source: "Check Points," The Urban Inst. Sept. 2, 2000)
FOREIGN STUDENTS
The 2006/07 annual report of the Institute of International Education (IIE) lists the number of foreign students attending post-secondary school in West Virginia as 13,111. Four schools in New Jersey are listed as having a major concentration of these students:
- Rutgers had enrollment of 1,413 foreign students, 5.2% of total enrollment.
- New Jersey Institute of Technologyhad enrollment of 1,413 foreign students, 5.2% of total enrollment.
- Princeton Univeristy had enrollment of 1,413 foreign students, 5.2% of total enrollment.
- Fairleigh Dickinson University
Below, a chart illustrates the sharp increase of foreign students attending school in West Virginia from 1960-2000.
LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS
You can view a listing of local immigration reform groups here.
STATE CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION VOTING RECORD
You can view the voting record of your representatives in Congress regarding immigration issues in our voting report section.
New Jersey: Immigrant Admissions
| New Jersey Immigrant Admissions by Fiscal Year | |
| 1997 | 41,184 |
| 1998 | 35,091 |
| 1999 | 34,095 |
| 2000 | 40,013 |
| 2001 | 59,920 |
| 2002 | 57,721 |
| 2003 | 40,699 |
| 2004 | 50,303 |
| 2005 | 56,180 |
| 2006 | 65,934 |
| Total | 481,140 |
Recent immigrant admissions have slightly increased by 176 percent since adoption of the current immigration system in 1965. During the 1965-'69 period, annual admissions averaged about 19,645 immigrants. During the 2002-'06 period, admissions averaged about 54,165 immigrants.
The charts below show recent immigrant admissions and the cumulative immigrant admissions data since 1965. The number of annual admissions has ranged from 15,096 in FY'66 to 65,934 in FY'06. The cumulative total of admissions to
The data for fiscal years 1989-91 were artificially raised by the inclusion of former illegal aliens who were amnestied in 1986. According to INS data (1991) the number of amnesty applicants from New Jersey was 45,434 (29,156 pre-1982 residents and 16,278 agricultural workers).
The data for FY'95 and FY'97-'99 were artificially low because the INS did not issue green cards to all the eligible applicants for adjustment of status who were already in the United States. In those four years, new immigration could have registered as much as 30 percent higher, if the INS had kept up with its workload.
Beginning with FY'01, the INS began to increase admissions as a result of reducing the size of the backlog of Section 245(i) adjustment of status cases, i.e., amnesty, for illegal aliens.
INS DATA BY NATIONALITY: FY'93 - FY'02
The INS data below are furnished for nationals of the countries with the largest number of immigrants admitted or adjusted to legal residence each year since 1993. The absence of data means that the total number of admissions to the
The nationalities may change each year, so the totals in some cases will not reflect all the immigrants of that nationality who have become legal immigrants in
The Department of Homeland Security website has detailed data on immigrant admissions since FY’03 by year and by country. (See http://www.dhs.gov/ximgtn/statistics/data/dslpr.shtm).
| Immigrant Admissions by Fiscal Year | |||||||||||
| Country | FY'93 | FY'94 | FY'95 | FY'96 | FY'97 | FY'98 | FY'99 | FY'00 | FY'01 | FY'02 | Total |
| Bangladesh | - | - | - | 444 | 478 | 511 | 386 | 479 | - | 348 | 2,646 |
| Canada | 437 | 402 | 259 | 442 | 280 | 211 | 324 | 331 | 596 | 548 | 3,830 |
| China * | 3,830 | 3,039 | 1,797 | 3,191 | 2,241 | 1,854 | 1,737 | 2,623 | 3,962 | 3,769 | 28,043 |
| Colombia | 2,170 | 1,780 | 1,881 | 3,275 | 2,004 | 2,012 | 1,683 | 1,673 | 2,445 | 2,699 | 21,622 |
| Cuba | 783 | 627 | 805 | 1,593 | 1,142 | 437 | 802 | 1,029 | 1,361 | 1,274 | 9,853 |
| Dom. Rep. | 5,176 | 5,384 | 4,136 | 5,006 | 3,240 | 2,478 | 2,382 | 2,477 | 3,427 | 3,440 | 37,146 |
| Ecuador | 1,265 | - | 1,221 | 2,055 | 1,390 | 1,365 | 1,693 | 1,337 | 2,069 | 2,122 | 14,517 |
| El Salvador | 923 | 578 | 436 | 897 | 594 | 541 | 489 | 712 | 2,316 | 933 | 8,419 |
| Germany | 225 | 179 | 171 | - | 175 | 182 | 185 | 265 | 323 | 308 | 2,013 |
| Guatemala | 485 | 317 | 339 | 504 | 308 | 281 | 311 | 398 | 652 | 609 | 4,207 |
| Guyana | 710 | 657 | 696 | 990 | 559 | 287 | 295 | 626 | - | 886 | 5,706 |
| Haiti | 970 | 1,500 | 1,306 | 2,008 | 1,256 | 1,280 | 1,692 | 2,101 | 1,788 | 1,643 | 15,544 |
| Honduras | 480 | - | - | - | 609 | 544 | 381 | 393 | - | 452 | 2,859 |
| India | 4,725 | 3,782 | 3,958 | 6,185 | 4,757 | 4,284 | 3,531 | 4,364 | 9,154 | 9,683 | 54,423 |
| Iran | 221 | 188 | 180 | 298 | 160 | 142 | 144 | 167 | 206 | 260 | 1,966 |
| Ireland | 1,012 | 1,137 | - | - | 59 | 52 | 29 | 63 | - | 56 | 2,408 |
| Jamaica | 1,138 | 1,012 | 1,294 | 1,712 | 1,185 | 1,037 | 1,178 | 1,003 | 1,161 | 1,171 | 11,891 |
| Japan | - | 257 | - | - | 142 | 158 | 153 | 254 | 322 | 340 | 1,626 |
| Korea | 1,069 | 1,054 | 1,043 | 2,014 | 1,079 | 936 | 867 | 1,065 | 1,644 | 1,476 | 12,247 |
| Mexico | 462 | 385 | 375 | 1,125 | 655 | 772 | 733 | 700 | 1,098 | 1,209 | 7,514 |
| Nicaragua | - | - | - | - | 526 | 104 | 178 | 431 | 456 | 299 | 1,944 |
| Nigeria | - | - | 535 | 1,044 | 182 | 568 | 571 | 567 | - | 575 | 4,042 |
| Pakistan | 619 | 556 | 738 | 1,076 | 1,026 | 1,008 | 1,036 | 1,085 | 1,298 | 1,092 | 9,534 |
| Peru | 2,073 | 1,771 | 1,534 | 3,130 | 2,025 | 2,033 | 1,716 | 1,451 | 1,949 | 1,825 | 19,507 |
| Philippines | 4,637 | 2,945 | 2,626 | 3,544 | 2,392 | 1,648 | 1,367 | 1,845 | 2,905 | 3,111 | 27,020 |
| Poland | 3,887 | 3,751 | 1,651 | 2,421 | 1,485 | 974 | 1,040 | 1,209 | 1,726 | 1,808 | 19,952 |
| Sov. Un. * | 1,875 | 1,993 | 1,631 | 1,972 | 1,041 | 1,130 | 1,506 | 1,989 | 1,961 | 2,659 | 17,757 |
| Trin.& Tob. | - | 415 | - | - | 416 | 349 | 327 | 399 | - | 461 | 2,367 |
| U. Kingdom | 950 | 742 | 514 | 787 | 467 | 364 | 381 | 493 | 843 | 844 | 6,385 |
| Vietnam | 937 | 564 | 435 | 630 | 459 | 271 | 276 | 428 | 500 | 557 | 5,057 |
| Yugo. * | - | - | 445 | 677 | 452 | 343 | 366 | 543 | 333 | 1,152 | 4,311 |
| Other | 9,226 | 9,068 | 9,723 | 16,280 | 8,400 | 6,935 | 6,336 | 7,513 | 15,425 | 10,112 | 99,018 |
| Total | 50,285 | 44,083 | 39,729 | 63,303 | 41,184 | 35,091 | 34,095 | 40,013 | 59,920 | 57,721 | 465,424 |
A dash (-) indicates that the data for that year were not published for that country in the INS Statistical Yearbook.
* China data include Hong Kong and Taiwan. Former USSR data continued since break-up (except FY'96-'97 and ‘01 include only Russia and Ukraine). Former Yugoslavia data continued since break-up.
The 31 nationalities above represent more than three-quarters (78.7%) of all immigrant settlement and adjustment in New Jersey during this ten-year period. Immigrants from India accounted for more than one-ninth (11.7%) of all new immigrants during the period. When immigrants from the Dominican Republic, Philippines and China are added to those from India, those countries accounted for more than three-tenths (31.5%) of total admissions.
New Jersey: Social Policy Issues
EDUCATION AND HEALTH CARE
The New Jersey Department of Education spent more than $57 million for bilingual education of public school students for the 1993-94 school year. This figure includes children of legal immigrants, illegal aliens and political refugees. (Source: The Central New Jersey Courier News, 9/26/93)
Because hospitals do not require patients to provide proof of legal residency or citizenship, hospitals cannot even venture a guess as to how much of the $754 million in annual uncompensated health care costs in New Jersey can be attributed to illegal aliens. According to the state Health Department, emergency health care is provided to all patients who request it, regardless of their ability to pay. (Source: The Sunday Courier News, 9/26/93)
LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY STUDENTS
Data are not available nationally on immigrant students (either legally or illegally resident in the United States) who are enrolled in primary and secondary schools (K-12). However, many of these students are enrolled in Limited English Proficiency/English Language Learning (LEP/ELL) instruction programs. Many may be U.S.-born, but the majority of these students may be assumed to be either immigrants or the children of immigrants, with the exception being areas with native Americans who speak a native language other than English.
In New Jersey, overall enrollment in 2002 (1,380,502) was 3.7 percent above enrollment in 1993. By contrast, LEP enrollment (58,218 - 4.2% of all enrollment) was 17.3 percent higher than a decade earlier.
Data on enrollment in LEP/ELL programs are collected by the federal government from school systems that receive Title VII funds for these special instruction programs. The data on LEP/ELL enrollment are understated because data from private schools that do not apply for Title VII assistance are sketchy.
CRIME
The INS deports hundreds of illegal aliens from New Jersey each year. Most of these aliens are not found until they commit a crime and enter a state prison or county jail after conviction. (Source: Star-Ledger, July 29, 1993).
According to the state Department of Corrections, about 500 inmates have been identified by the INS for possible deportation. The deportable criminal aliens must serve their sentences before deportation. It costs the state about $25,000 per year for each inmate, which comes to about $12 million a year for these deportable aliens. (Source: Star-Ledger, Apr. 12, 1994)
A new cooperative partnership has been forged between the INS Newark office and law enforcement officials throughout the state to identify and deport criminal aliens. Since Oct. 1997, the INS has taken custody and put in deportation proceedings about 140 alien criminals. That is about three times the comparable number a year earlier. Since last year, the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office has referred some 25 cases to the INS, and since February Passaic County has referred 23 cases. However there still is no INS cooperation with authorities at the municipal level.(Source: Bergen Record, June 21, 1998)
WELFARE
Prior to the implementation of the new welfare legislation in 1997, the number of immigrants receiving Medicaid benefices was estimated at 50,000, those receiving food stamps was about 22,000 and those receiving cash benefits was 15,000. (Source: The New York Times, 1/30/97)
According to a study by the Center for Immigration Studies, a higher share of New Jersey's foreign-born residents live in poverty (more than 9%) than do its U.S.-born citizens (7%). Of the state's nearly 967,000 foreign-born residents, more than 24,100 were on welfare in 1990. (Source: The Bergen Record, 2/3/94)
In response to concerns about immigrants being cut off from welfare benefices, Gov. Whitman announced a project to spend $2 million per year to help more than 5,000 poor immigrants become citizens. The project would be administered through the New Jersey Immigration Policy Network, a coalition of private charities that provide programs for immigrants. (Source: The New York Times, 1/30/97)
New Jersey: Illegal Aliens
FAIR ESTIMATE
FAIR estimates the state’s illegal alien population as of 2008 is as many as 490,000 persons. This is part of an overall estimate of the U.S. illegal alien population of about 13 million persons.
INS ESTIMATE
The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) estimated in February 2003 that as of January 2000 there were about 221,000 illegal aliens residing in New Jersey. That was 86,000 more that the previous INS estimate of 135,000 illegal aliens living in New Jersey in October 1996. That earlier estimated illegal alien population was 30,000 higher than the INS estimate for October 1992. In November 2006, DHS updated the estimate of the state's illegal alien population at 380,000, and staggering 245,000 increase from just ten years earlier. The most recent estimate by DHS put the illegal poulation in the state at 430,000 in 2006.
Most of the illegal alien population is new because the 1986 IRCA amnesty adjusted earlier illegal alien residents to legal status. INS records indicate that more than 45,000 illegal resident aliens applied from New Jersey for the 1986 amnesty.
Based upon the new 2000 Census data, the Migration Policy Institute issued a May 2002 study that estimated New Jersey's illegal alien population at 300,000.
OTHER ESTIMATES
The Pew Hispanic Center estimated in March 2005 that the illegal alien population in New Jersey was 350,000-425,000 in 2004.
COST OF ILLEGAL ALIENS
Incarceration Costs -The recent SCAAP amounts that New Jersey has received were:
| FY’99 | — | $12,940,717 |
| FY’00 | — | $15,440,674 |
| FY’01 | — | $11,749,542 |
| FY’02 | — | $10,944,836 |
| FY’03 | — | $5,507,306 |
| FY’04 | — | $7,901,622 |
The amount of SCAAP awards has been declining in both total distributions and even more as a share of the state’s expenses. In FY’99 the state received 38.6% of its costs for 1,227 prisoner years of detention. By FY’02, the state’s reported illegal alien detention increased by 66 percent to 2,039 prisoner years, while compensation decreased by 15 percent and since has decreased much farther.
Medical Costs - Under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, hospitals with emergency rooms are required to treat and stabilize patients with emergency medical needs regardless whether or not they are in the country legally or whether they are able to pay for the treatment. Congress in 2003 enacted an appropriation of $250 million per year (for 4 years) to help offset some of the costs due to use of this service by illegal aliens. This amount has been allocated among the states based upon estimates of the illegal alien population and data on the apprehension of illegal aliens in each state. This amount compensates only a fraction of the medical outlays. For New Jersey, the proposed payment in fiscal year 2004 is $5,270,170.
Educational Costs - In our study Breaking the Piggy Bank: How Illegal Immigration is Sending Schools into the Red, we estimated based on 2004 data that educational expenditures for illegal immigration were costing the New Jersey taxpayer $1.488 billion dollars annually. This cost was partially for educating students who were themselves illegally in the country ($620.2 million) and in part for the education of their siblings born in the United States to illegal residents ($868.2 million).
Projected Fiscal Cost -
In 2006 we estimated that New Jersey taxpayers are currently burdened with annual costs of about $1.688 billion because of illegal aliens residing in the state. That estimate was based on only expenditures for education, emergency medical care and incarceration. We projected that those costs will rise unless we gain control over our borders and our worksites. If a new amnesty and increases in immigrants and guest workers were enacted, as proposed by business and ethnic advocacy groups, we project that the cost to the state’s taxpayers for those same programs would rise to $2.816 billion per year in 2010 and to $4.781 billion per year in 2020.
New Jersey : Poll Data
A Monmouth University/Gannett New Jersey poll in February 2009 with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points found:
- 62% of state residents oppose granting illegal immigrants some type of limited driver's license.
- 32%, a minority, support in-state tuition rates for children of illegal immigrants while a larger minority (39%) would bar “undocumented aliens” access to public higher education entirely.
A Rasmussen Report poll conducted 500 Likely Voters in New Jersey on December 12, 2007 found:
- 80% oppose granting drivers’ licenses to illegal aliens.
- 72% say that when police officers pull someone over for a traffic violation, they should routinely check to see if that person is in the country legally.
- 58% believe that if an illegal immigrant is discovered in this manner, they should be deported .
A Monmouth University/Gannett New Jersey Poll conducted from July 16-19, 2007 of 800 adult residents found that:
- 89% believe that immigration is either a ‘very serious problem’ (69%) or a ‘somewhat serious problem’ (20%) for the United States.
- 79% support the hiring of additional border patrol agents.
- 76% agree that immigration is either a ‘very serious problem’ (46%) or a ‘somewhat serious problem’ (30%) for New Jersey.
- 73% concur with imposing new fines on business that hire illegal immigrants.
- 55% agree with building a fence along the border of Mexico.
- A plurality of 44% believe that immigration has been a ‘bag thing’ for New Jersey.
- 58% want a tougher approach on immigration including tightening boarders and cracking down on illegal immigrants. (The Record of Bergen County, January, 2007)
New Jersey: Immigration Impact
| State Population (2006 CB estimate) | 8,724,560 |
| State Population in 2000 | 8,434,216 |
| Average Annual Change 2000-2006 | 0.6% |
| Foreign Born Population 2006 1 | 1,768,350 |
| Foreign Born Share 2006 | 20.3% |
| Foreign Born Population 2000 | 1,476,327 |
| Foreign Born Share 2000 | 17.5% |
| Average Annual Change 2000-2006 | 3.2% |
| Population Projection 2010 | 9.0 million |
| Population Projection 2025 | 9.6 million |
| Population Projection 2050 (FAIR) | 14.3 million |
All numbers are from the U.S. Census Bureau unless otherwise noted. Additional Census Bureau, INS, and other immigration-related data are available for New Jersey.
POPULATION CHANGE
New Jersey population increased by 9.1 percent between 1990 and 2000, and by 3.4 percent between 2000 and 2006, bringing New Jersey total population to approximately 8.7 million.
FAIR estimates the illegal alien population in 2005 at 358,000, which ranks ninth in the U.S. for the FAIR estimate. This number is 70.0% above the U.S. government estimate of 221,000 in 2000, and 277% above the 1990 estimate of 95,000.
According to an estimate of the Pew Hispanic Center, in 2005 there were an estimated 350,000 to 425,000 illegal aliens living in New Jersey. This estimate ranks 8th among illegal alien populations in the United States for the PEW estimate.2
FAIR estimates in 2004 that the taxpayers of New Jersey spent $1488.4 million per year on illegal aliens and their children in public schools.3
| FAIR’s projected annual fiscal costs to New Jersey taxpayers for emergency medical care, education and incarceration resulting if an amnesty is adopted for illegal residents. | ||
| Current | 2010 | 2020 |
| $1,688,000,000 | $2,816,000,000 | $4,781,000,000 |
Population estimates show that New Jersey is adding people faster than any other state in the Northeast, primarily because of the increase in immigrants.2 This immigration-driven population growth is taking a serious toll on New Jersey, bringing traffic, overcrowded schools, pollution, and lack of affordable housing to the state, decreasing quality of life and straining water and other vital natural resources.
POPULATION PROFILE
Population estimates show that New Jersey is adding people faster than any other state in the Northeast, primarily because of the increase in immigrants.4 This immigration-driven population growth is taking a serious toll on New Jersey, bringing traffic, overcrowded schools, pollution, and lack of affordable housing to the state, decreasing quality of life and straining water and other vital natural resources.
New Jersey’s population increased by nine percent, or almost 700,000, between 1990 and 2000.
FOREIGN-BORN POPULATION
New Jersey’s Foreign-born population increased by 19.8 percent between 2000 and 2006. During that period New Jersey gained over 292,000 immigrants, bringing the total number of foreign-born residents in the state to nearly 1.8 million. .
ENVIRONMENTAL AND QUALITY OF LIFE PROFILE Environmental and Quality of Life Profile
Water: Between 2000 and 2006, New Jersey’s foreign-born population increased by 18.8 percent. 5 That compares with a 0.5 percent increase in the native-born population and that includes the children born to immigrants. When the U.S-born children of immigrants are included, immigration accounts for all of the state’s overall growth during that time.6 By 2050 the state’s population is expected to rise from 8.7 million in 2006 to 13.9 million.7New Jersey has a daily, per-capita water demand of 124.8 gallons.8This means that by 2050 public water usage will have increased by 648.9 million gallons each day.
Water Quality: From 1997 to 2000, 57 percent of New Jersey watersheds declined in quality, and nearly all New Jersey waterways are vulnerable to more decline in the future, according to an EPA study. From 1993 to 1998, water quality declined by 25 percent at five sites on the Wallkill River, where two-thirds of Sussex County’s 3,959 new homes were built. 9
Traffic: As population growth put more traffic on the roads, the average commute for New Jersey residents increased 19 percent during the 1990s, to 30 minutes in 2000.10, 11 51% of New Jersey's major urban roads are congested, and 71% of New Jersey's major roads are in poor or mediocre condition. Vehicle travel on New Jersey's highways increased 18% from 1990 to 2003. Driving on roads in need of repair costs New Jersey motorists $3.2 billion a year in extra vehicle repairs and operating costs --- $554 per motorist. 12
In the New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut area travelers experience an annual delay of 49 hours, and in the Allentown-Bethlehem area travelers experience an annual delay of 17 hours. 13 23 percent of commuters in New Jersey have a commute that is 45 minutes or longer, a figure that ranks 3rd in the U.S.13
Disappearing open space: Developed land increased by 34 percent in New Jersey between 1982 and 1997, making it the most developed state in the nation.14 Development consumes 40,000 acres of New Jersey farmlands and forests every year.15 The Highlands, a vast mountainous region stretching across New Jersey, lost 5,200 acres a year to development through the late 1990s, according to a U.S. Forest Service report. The development threatens wildlife and the water system for millions.16
Sprawl: New Jersey is on course to reach the outer limits of development as early as the 2030s. Experts say the state will be the first in the nation to be “built out,” meaning that no new land will be available for construction if trends continue and preservation goals are met.17
A study of urban sprawl between 1970 and 1990 that calculated the impact of population increase and per capita land use found that 30.4 square miles of additional land were consumed by urban sprawl in the Trenton, NJ metropolitan area, which crossover into Pennsylvania, and 22.2 percent of that sprawl was attributable to population increase. In the Wilmington, Delaware, New Jersey, Maryland, and Pennsylvania metro area sprawl consumed an additional 78.0 square miles and population increase accounted for 35.7 percent of the increase. 18
Population Density: New Jersey is already the most densely populated and developed state in the nation. 19In 2000, New Jersey had 1,000 people per square mile—compared to a national average of 80 people per square mile. By 2025, New Jersey’s population density is projected to reach 1,300 people per square mile.
Poverty: In 2005 10.6 percent of immigrants in New Jersey had incomes below the poverty line, an increase of 10.4 percent since 2000. Among non-citizens, the poverty rate climbs to 13.7 percent. 20
Cost of Immigration: The average immigrant household in New Jersey consumes more public services than it pays for with taxes, incurring a 37 percent higher state fiscal deficit than natives and a 59 percent greater local burden.21
Crowded housing: In 2005 over 85,000 New Jersey households were defined as crowded or severely crowded by housing authorities. 22 Studies show that a rise in crowded housing often correlates with an increase in the number of foreign- born.23 , 24
Palisades Park has seen a series of raids on overcrowded homes in which officials said they uncovered a network of illegal boarding houses charging immigrants up to $1,100 a month for tiny spaces in converted buildings. Most of the illegal space was partitioned in duplexes and single-family homes. Officials said numerous fire and safety violations have been found in the buildings.25 In Leonia, borough officials are concerned that illegally crowded apartments pose both a health risk and a fire hazard, and they say the problem is growing as unscrupulous landlords capitalize on families desperate for housing, many of them recent immigrants.26
Solid Waste: New Jersey generates 1.23 tons of solid waste per capita. 27
Air Quality: 13 of New Jersey’s 21 counties received a grade of “F” from the American Lung Association in their “State of the Air 2005” report. Essex County received a grade of “D”. 28
IMPACT OF IMMIGRATION ON SCHOOLS
Concerns over crowded classrooms, a shortage of adequate staff, and steeper property tax bills are mounting. Between 1990 and 2000, New Jersey’s elementary and high school enrollment increased 21 percent—a rate even the state Department of Education did not predict. 29Between 2000 and 2006, New Jersey’s K-12 student enrollment increased by over 106,000 students, 30, 31 and it projected to increase by an additional 14,000 students by 2015. 32
The biggest factor in underestimating substantial enrollment increases was immigration.33 One-fifth of school-aged children in New Jersey have immigrant parents. Six percent are foreign-born themselves.34 In Bloomingdale; the district is unable to accommodate all the students in need of bus transportation to school. More than two dozen students have been told they will need to provide their own transportation, as school buses are overcrowded.35 In Greenwich Township, in Warren County, an area that is quickly being transformed from a rural area into a suburb, the school population is growing so rapidly that a week after a new school opened in 2001, ground was broken on an addition that would double its size.36 In Wayne, some classes are being held in the cafeteria and stage area. “It’s very hard to say when the growth is going to stop,” said Superintendent Richard Linkh. “We simply need more schools”. 37
Endnotes:
- FAIR estimate based on the 2006 Current Population Survey.
- "Estimates of the Unauthorized Migrant Population for States based on the March 2005 CPS", Pew Hispanic Center.
- Martin, Jack. “Breaking the Piggy Bank: How Illegal Immigration is Sending Schools into the Red,” A Report by the Federation for American Immigration Reform.
- Robert Strauss, “A Welcome Mat for Immigrants,” New York Times, January 13, 2002.
- U.S. Census Bureau 2006.
- Jack Martin and Stanley Fogel. “Projecting the U.S. Population to 2050.” FAIR. March 2006.
- Jack Martin. “Issue Brief: Estimation of Foreign Born Birthrate.” FAIR. 2008.
- U.S. Geological Survey 2000
- Bob Groves, “Better Water Quality Pushed,” The Record, November 22, 2001.
- “Table DP-1-4, Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2000,” Census 2000, U.S. Census Bureau.
- “Table DP-1-4, Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 1990,” 1990 Census, U.S. Census Bureau.
- Report Card for America's Infrastructure 2005," American Society of Civil Engineers.
- "The 2005 Urban Mobility Report", Texas Transportation Institute.
- “U.S. Population 2007 Data Sheet,” Population Reference Bureau.
- Bob Groves, op. cit.
- Matthew Brown, “ New Jersey Approves Plan to Limit Sprawl,” The Record, March 2, 2001.
- “Forest Service Study Sounds Alarm on Building in the Highlands,” Associated Press, April 5, 2002.
- Karen Masterson, “New Jersey Enters Era of Maximum Sprawl,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, September 10, 2000.
- Beck, Roy and Leon Kolankiewicz, “Weighing Sprawl Factors in Large U.S. Cities,” Numbers USA, March 2001.
- Suzette Parmley, “McGreevey, Schundler Far Apart on Land Use,” Philadelphia Inquirer, September 9, 2001.
- “New Jersey State Factsheet,” Migration Information Source, Migration Policy Institute.
- Deborah Garvey, Thomas Espenshade, James Scully, “Are Immigrants a Drain on the Public Fisc? State and Local Impacts in New Jersey,” Social Science Quarterly, June 2002.
- Selected Housing Characteristics: 2005 Data Set - 2005 American Community Survey, American Fact Finder, U.S. Census Bureau.
- Haya El Nasser, “U.S. Neighborhoods Grow More Crowded,” USA Today, July 7, 2002.
- Randy Capps, “Hardship Among Children of Immigrants: Findings from the 1999 National Survey of America’s Families,” Urban Institute, 2001.
- “Landlords of Crowded Palisades Park Home Fined $10,000”, Associated Press, August 23, 2001.
- Report Card for America's Infrastructure 2005," American Society of Civil Engineers.
- “State of the Air 2005: New Jersey”, American Lung Association.
- Debra Nussbaum, “A Number Story,” New York Times, September 29, 2002.
- "Overview of Public Elementary and Secondary Schools and Districts: School Year 1999-2000," National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education.
- "Public Elementary and Secondary School Student Enrollment, High School Completions, and Staff From the Common Core of Data: School Year 2005-06', National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, June 2007.
- Projections of Education Statistics to 2015, National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education.
- Debra Nussbaum, “A Number Story,” New York Times, September 29, 2002.
- “Check Points,” Urban Institute, September 2, 2000.
- Eman Varqua, “Crowded Buses Leave Some Kids Without Rides,” The Record, September 11, 2002.
- Debra Nussbaum, op. cit.
- Scott Fallon, “Wayne Schools Struggle with Enrollment Surge,” Bergen Record, November 20, 2001.