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Wisconsin

Wisconsis : Extended Immigration Data

STATE POPULATION

Using the Current Population Survey, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that in July 2008 Wisconsin’s population had increased to 5,627,967 residents, i.e., an annual average increase of about 31,840 residents since 2000. That is a rate of increase of about 0.6 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 58,365 residents from net international migration (more foreign-born arriving than leaving). That was an annual average increase of about 7,995 residents, i.e., more than one-fourth (25.1%) of the total increase (not including the children born to the immigrants after their arrival in the United States).

The 2000 Census found 5,363,675 persons resident in Wisconsin. This was an increase of 471,906 persons above the 1990 Census. The rate of increase (9.6%) was slightly lower than the national average (9.9%). The amount of increase was the 24^th largest in the country.

The 2000 population is about 35,000 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.

Between 1980-1990, the state's population increased by four percent (from 4,705,642 to 4,891,769 residents). Wisconsin had the 30th highest rate of population increase in the country between 1960-2000.

FOREIGN-BORN POPULATION

Based on the American Community Survey (ACS), the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that the foreign-born population of Wisconsin was 241,620 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 Wisconsin was about 257,575 residents in July 2008. This meant a foreign-born population share of 4.6 percent. The amount of change since the 2000 Census indicates an average annual rate of increase in the foreign-born population of about 7,690 people, which is nearly one-fourth (24.1%) of the state’s annual average population increase. Since 2000, the foreign-born population has increased by 32.9 percent compared to a 3.9 percent increase 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 9.2 percent share of the state’s current births is large enough to account for about 6,395 births a year. Combining the increase in the foreign-born population and estimated immigrant births suggests that immigration may account for nearly 14,085 persons added to the state’s population annually, i.e., more than two-fifths (44.2%) of 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 15.3 percent 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 more likely to account for about 22 percent of the state's population increase, based on the increase in the share of those in Wisconsin who speak a language other than English at home.

The 2000 Census found that 46.8 percent of Wisconsin' foreign-born population had arrived in the state since 1990. This demonstrates the effects of the current mass immigration, and it is higher 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 Wisconsin increased by about one-quarter, from 5.8 percent to 7.4 percent. About two-fifths (40.4%) of those who said they spoke a language other than English at home in 2000 also said they spoke English less than very well.

(Source: Census Bureau report: Language Spoken at Home for the Population 5 Years and Over, April 2004)

In 1990, there were 121,547 foreign-born residents of Wisconsin. This 2.5 percent share of the state's 4,891,769 population was lower than the national average of 7.9%.

Between 1980-1990, the state's foreign-born population decreased by three percent (from 125,297 to 121,547 residents.) Nearly 35 percent of the foreign-born population of Wisconsin in 1990 had immigrated since 1980.

* 2000 Census data for China include Hong Kong and Taiwan.

The ten countries above constituted about two-thirds (67%) of the foreign-born population in Wisconsin in 2000. Mexicans alone constituted more than one-quarter (27.7%) of the foreign-born total. Compared to the 34,783 Mexican-born residents from the 2000 Census who said they entered the United States between 1990-2000, INS data indicate that Mexican immigrants who listed Wisconsin as their intended residence during that period numbered fewer than 6,600 persons.

The Census Bureau estimated from its American Community Survey that in 2002 the foreign-born population of Wisconsin was about 213,900 persons. The chart below shows the regions from which those foreign residents came.

THE IMMIGRANT STOCK

CONNECT TO LEGAL IMMIGRANT ADMISSION DATA

The Census Bureau estimated that there were about 467,000 people in Wisconsin in 2000 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 the population of 5,363,675, the immigrant stock share of the state's population was 8.7 percent.

As the graph below shows, the amount of Wisconsin’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 266,600 people to the population. Over this period, the increase in the foreign stock has accounted for 24.5 percent of the state’s population increase.

NATURALIZATION

Data from the 2006 American Community Survey indicate that 104,415 residents, or 42.6 percent, of the foreign-born population in Wisconsin were citizens, compared to 76,223 residents, or 39.3 percent, in 2000.

Nationally, 40.3 percent of the foreign-born population was citizens in 2000 and 42.0 percent were citizens in 2006.

REFUGEE SETTLEMENT

Wisconsin has received 6,786 refugees over the most recent ten fiscal years (FY'97-'06), with 403 arriving in FY’06.

Under the Office of Refugee Resettlement's (HHS/ORR) assistance funding for FY'02, $518,513 is available for refugee employment training and other services programs in Wisconsin based on a three-year refugee settlement program covering about 2,066 refugees. 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 $6,755,929 and $7,381,894.

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 Wisconsin, overall enrollment in 2002 (878,809) was 10 percent below enrollment in 1993. By contrast, LEP enrollment 35,312 - 4% of all enrollment) was 139 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.

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 Wisconsin as 7,383. One school in Wisconsin is listed as having a major concentration of these students:  University of Wisconsin-Madison had enrollment of 3,829 foreign students, 9.2% of total enrollment. Below, a chart illustrates the sharp increase of foreign students attending school in Wisconsin from 1960-2000.

For information on foreign student issues see: Foreign Students in the United States.

ILLEGAL ALIENS

FAIR Estimate - FAIR estimates the state’s illegal alien population as of 2008 is as many as 90,000 persons. This is part of an overall estimate of the U.S. illegal alien population of about 13 million persons.

The INS estimated in February 2003 that the illegal alien population of Wisconsin was about 41,000 residents. That was more than five times the previous INS estimate that in October 1996 there were about 8,000 illegal alien residents. The latter estimate was up by over 25 percent from an earlier estimate of illegal aliens at about 6,000 residents in October 1992.

Wisconsin has received partial compensation under the federal State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP) that was established in 1994 to compensate the states and local jurisdictions for incarceration of "undocumented," aliens who are serving time for a felony conviction or at least two misdemeanors.

The recent SCAAP amounts that Wisconsin has received were:

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 326 prisoner years of detention. By FY’02, the state’s reported illegal alien detention rose by 187 percent to 936 prisoner years, while compensation rose by 42 percent but then declined.

MEDICAL COSTS OF ILLEGAL ALIENS

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 Wisconsin, the proposed payment in fiscal year 2004 is $977,724.

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.

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Wisconsin : Immigrant Admissions

Recent immigrant admissions have increased by about 169 percent since adoption of the current immigration system in 1965. During the 1965-'69 period, annual admissions averaged about 2,405 immigrants. During the 2002-'06 period, admissions averaged about 6,470 immigrants.

The charts below show recent immigrant admissions and the cumulative INS immigrant admissions data since 1965. The number of annual admissions has ranged from 2,052 in FY'98 to 8,477 in FY'01. The cumulative total of admissions to Wisconsin between fiscal years 1965 and 2006 was about 162,235 immigrants.

The data for fiscal years 1989-91 were artificially raised slightly by the inclusion of former illegal aliens who were amnestied in 1986. According to INS data (1991) the number of amnesty applicants from Wisconsin was 4,297 (2,816 pre-1982 residents and 1,481 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 United States by nationals of that country was not enough to merit detailed reporting in that year.

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 Wisconsin during this period.

Immigrant Admissions by Fiscal Year

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 two-thirds (66.8%) of all immigrant settlement and adjustment in Wisconsin during this ten-year period. The countries that supplied the largest number of immigrants (Mexico, China, former Soviet Union and India) account for nearly two-fifths (38.2%) of total admissions since 1993. Mexico alone accounted for more than one-eighth (15.8%) of all new immigrant admissions. 

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Wisconsin: Poll Data

A Rasmussen Report poll conducted of 500 likely voters in Wisconsin on December 5^th found:

• 79% oppose granting drivers’ licenses to illegal aliens.
• 74% 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.
• 53% believe that if illegal immigrants are discovered in this manner, they should be deported.

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Wisconsin: Immigration Impact

All numbers are from the U.S. Census Bureau unless otherwise noted. Additional Census Bureau, INS, and other immigration-related data are available for Wisconsin.

POPULATION CHANGE

Wisconsin’s population increased by 9.9 percent between 1990 and 2000, and by 3.4 percent between 2000 and 2006, bringing Wisconsin’s total population to approximately 5.6 0million. 

Approximately 26.2 percent of the total population increase between 2000 and 2006 in Wisconsin was directly attributable to immigrants.

FAIR estimates the illegal alien population in 2005 at 85,000, which ranks 21st in the U.S. for the FAIR estimate. This number is 107% above the U.S. government estimate of 41,000 in 2000, and 750% above the 1990 estimate of 10,000.

According to an estimate of the Pew Hispanic Center, in 2005 there were an estimated 75,000 to 115,000 illegal aliens living in Wisconsin  ²

FAIR estimates in 2004 that the taxpayers of Wisconsin spent $201.4 million per year on illegal aliens and their children in public schools. ³

POPULATION PROFILE

FOREIGN-BORN POPULATION

IMPACT ON ENVIRONMENT AND QUALITY OF LIFE

Disappearing open space: Each year, Wisconsin loses 37,600 acres of open space and farmland due to development.⁴ This population-driven development of forest and farmland has meant a dramatic change of lifestyle for many local farmers and outdoorsmen, who rely on the woodlots and farm fields for both leisure and income.⁵

The prairies and forests that much of the wildlife in Wisconsin depends on are threatened by Wisconsin’s growth. 118 plants, 26 birds, and 21 fish species in Wisconsin are listed as threatened or endangered. ⁶

Crowded housing: In 2005 over 34,000 Wisconsin households were defined as crowded or severely crowded by housing authorities. ⁷ Studies show that a rise in crowded housing often correlates with an increase in the number of foreign-born. ⁸, ⁹

Sprawl: Metro Milwaukee’s population is the eighth most dense in the nation11—and residents aren’t happy about it. In Germantown (a fast-growing Milwaukee suburb), 75 percent of residents say they want “little to no population growth.” ¹⁰ Echoing the same sentiments, the City Council in Verona voted to limit the number of new houses built each year in order to slow down its past three years of unprecedented growth. ¹¹

These communities must also deal with the cost of such unprecedented growth, as they must bear the financial burden of new infrastructure and services to accommodate the new developments. For instance, in Franklin, where population increased 35 percent during the 1990s, the town has paid over $13 million for expanded infrastructure to keep up with its rapid population growth over the past decade. ¹²

Traffic: In 2006 9 percent of Wisconsin’s population had a commute that was 45 minutes or more. ¹³ As population growth put more traffic on the roads, the average commute for Wisconsin residents increased from 18 minutes in 1990 to 21 minutes in 2005. ¹⁴, ¹⁵  25% of Wisconsin's major urban roads are congested, and 32% of Wisconsin's major roads are in poor or mediocre condition. Vehicle travel on Wisconsin's highways increased 35% from 1990 to 2003.Driving on roads in need of repair costs Wisconsin motorists $921 million a year in extra vehicle repairs and operating costs --- $251 per motorist. Congestion in the Milwaukee metropolitan area costs commuters $413 per person per year in excess fuel and lost time. ¹⁷

Milwaukee commuters are spending more than twice as much time stuck in traffic annually as they did at the start of the last decade—up from twelve hours in 1990 to 32 hours in 2000. ¹⁸ A study by the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission’s found that if current trends continue, commuters in various parts of Milwaukee can expect continuous traffic congestion from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m. and from noon to 7 p.m. every weekday by 2020. 18/ To alleviate such congestion, their study recommends an additional 127 miles of new lanes as area freeways are rebuilt, at a cost of $6.2 billion. ¹⁹ But highway expansion projects could put many farmers out of jobs, as such project will require converting farmland to highways. ²⁰

Air pollution: As population increases, pollution usually rises along with it. Air pollution is a lingering problem for Wisconsin. The American Lung Association has given 9 counties in Wisconsin a grade of “F” for air quality. Four other counties received a grade of D”D, and sevem counties received a grade of “C” ²¹ The U.S. Public Interest Research Group labeled Wisconsin the eighth smoggiest state in the nation. ²²

Water: Population growth is endangering Wisconsin’s water quality and supply. A study of water use in Wisconsin found that ground water levels are dropping by as much as seven feet per year in the southeast region—rates of withdrawal that water experts say cannot be maintained. ²³ The drop in water levels not only means a decline in the available water supply for the surrounding communities but also an increase in the levels of pollution and radioactivity due to the lower levels of saturated sandstone as well as higher costs for pumping the water up from greater depths. ²⁴

The Department of Natural Resources says that 44 of Wisconsin’s river miles and 61 percent of the lakes cannot support a full range of fish, aquatic insects and plants. ²⁵

Poverty: In 2005 18.4 percent of immigrants in Wisconsin had incomes below the poverty level, an increase of 30.6 percent since 2000. Among non-citizens, the poverty rate climbs to 23.7 percent. ²⁶ Studies show that a rise in crowded housing often correlates with an increase in the number of foreign-born. ²⁷, ²⁸

Education: Between 1990 and 2000, Wisconsin’s elementary and high school enrollment increased 13 percent. ²⁹ School overcrowding is becoming a major problem for several areas in Wisconsin. By 2012, Sun Prairie Area School District predicts that it will need two more elementary schools, a third middle school, and a second middle school Its population has risen over 30 percent since 1987 and is projected to increase by another 13 percent by 2005-06.³⁰ Many other school districts that have long faced the problem of overcrowding are planning to build new schools to combat the problem as well. ³¹, ³²

Solid Waste: Wisconsin generates 1.03 tons of solid waste per capita ³³.

1. FAIR estimate based on the 2006 Current Population Survey.
2. "Estimates of the Unauthorized Migrant Population for  States based on the March 2005 CPS", Pew Hispanic Center.
3. Martin, Jack. “Breaking the Piggy Bank: How Illegal Immigration is Sending Schools into the Red,” A Report by the Federation for American Immigration Reform.
4. “State Rankings by Acreage and Rate of Non-Federal Land Developed,” Natural Resources Conservation Service, United States Department of Agriculture.
5. Don Behm and Jeff Cole, “Hunters, Home Owners a Tough Mix,” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, December 24, 2001.
6. Lee Bergquist, “Inching Toward a Cleaner State,” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, April 21, 2002.
7. Selected Housing Characteristics: 2005 Data Set - 2005 American Community Survey, American Fact Finder, U.S. Census Bureau.
8. Haya El Nasser, “U.S. Neighborhoods Grow More Crowded,” USA Today, July 7, 2002.
9. Randy Capps, “Hardship Among Children of Immigrants: Findings from the 1999 National Survey of America’s Families,” Urban Institute, 2001.
10. Peter Maller, “Property Owners Want Less Population Growth, Surveys Say,” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, January 30
11. Kathryn Kingsbury, “Verona Limits New Homes to 125 a Year,” Capital Times, February 15, 2002.
12. Annysa Johnson, “Constant Migration Begins to Tax Once-Rural Areas,” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, March 11, 2001.
13. “U.S. Population 2007 Data Sheet,” Population Reference Bureau.
14. Table DP-1-4, Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 1990 and 2000, Census 2000, U.S. Census Bureau.
15. Selected Economic Characteristics: 2005 Data Set - 2005 American Community Survey, American Fact Finder, U.S. Census Bureau.
16. Report Card for America's Infrastructure 2005," American Society of Civil Engineers.
17. “Exhibit A-4. Hours Change in Annual Delay per peak Road Traveler, 1982-2000,” 2002 Urban Mobility Study, Texas Transportation Institute, 2002.
18. Larry Sandler, “Dire Freeway Prediction” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, May 10, 2001.
19. Larry Sandler, “Milwaukee Residents Daunted By Traffic, Though Many Other Cities Face Worse,” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, June 20, 2002.
20. Jacqueline Seibel, “Highway 164 Project Will Add Traffic, Critics Say,” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, May 8, 2001.
21. “State of the Air 2005: Wisconsin”, American Lung Association.
22. Rebecca Stanfield, “Danger in the Air: The 2001 Ozone Season,” U.S.PIRG Education Fund, August 2002.
23. Bill Novak, “Will State Run Out of Water?” Capital Times, October 22, 2002.
24. Don Behm, “Radioactivity; Radioactivity, Salt Taint Groundwater as Inland Areas Dig Ever Deeper,” Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, December 10, 2002.
25. Lee Bergquist, op.cit.
26. “Wisconsin State Factsheet,” Migration Information Source, Migration Policy Institute
27. Haya El Nasser, “U.S. Neighborhoods Grow More Crowded,”USA Today, July 7, 2002.
28. Randy Capps, “Hardship among Children of Immigrants: Finding from the 1999 National Survey of America’s Families,” Urban Institute, 2001.
29. Table DP-1-4, Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 1990 and 2000, Census 2000, U.S. Census Bureau.
30. Marv Balousek, “Plan Under Review to Build 4 Schools,” Wisconsin State Journal, April 28, 2002.
31. Judy Frankel, “School Plan Vote Set for Feb. 18,” Capital Times, December 18, 2002.
32. Jessica Peterson, “Middleton School Board Seeks Overcrowding Fix,” Capital Times, February 26, 2002.
33. Report Card for America's Infrastructure 2005," American Society of Civil Engineers

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