STATE POPULATION                                                                       The Census Bureau estimated that in July 2007 Nebraska’s population had increased by an annual average of about 8,670 residents since 2000 (to 1,774,571 residents). Over that period net immigration was adding about 3,755 persons each year (more immigrants arriving than leaving). During the same period there was a net annual average population loss of about 5,030 residents from net domestic migration (more native-born residents leaving than arriving). Net immigrant settlement accounted for more than two-fifths (43.3%) of the overall net population increase over this period, and that does not take into account the children born to the immigrants after their arrival in the United States

[Note: children borm in the United States to immigrants (part of the immigrant stock) are not included as part of the immigration flow.]

The 2000 population is about 6,000 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.

Nebraska had the 43rd greatest rate of population increase in the country between 1960-2000.

The population of Nebraska rose by five percent from 1980 to 1990 (from 1,569,825 to 1,578,385 residents).

FOREIGN-BORN POPULATION

FAIR estimates that the foreign-born population of Nebraska was about 103,445 residents in July 2007. This meant a foreign-born population share of 5.8 percent. The amount of change since the 2000 Census indicates an average annual rate of increase in the foreign-born population of about 3,945 people, which is more than two-fifths (45.5%) of the state’s annual average population increase. Since 2000, the foreign-born population has increased by 38.6 percent compared to a 2.1 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. An 11.6 percent share of the state’s current births is large enough to account for about 2,995 births a year. Combining the increase in the foreign-born population and estimated immigrant births suggests that immigration may account for adding nearly 6,940 persons to the state’s population annually, i.e., four-fifths (80%) of the state’s overall population increase.

 The 2000 Census recorded 74,638 foreign-born residents in the state. That was 4.4 percent of the state's overall population and an increase of 164.7 percent above the 1990 foreign-born population of 28,198 residents. That increase of more than doubling of the immigrant population of ten-years earlier was much higher than the 5.6 percent increase in the native-born population. The rate of increase in the immigrant population was the seventh highest in the country, however the amount of increase in the foreign-born population was not among the 25 highest in the country.

A comparison of the increase in the immigrant population from 1990 with the change in the overall population during the same period shows that immigrant settlement directly accounted for 34.9 percent of the state's overall population increase over that decade. The share of the population increase due to immigration would be still higher if the children of the immigrants born here after their arrival were 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 41 percent, which is based on the increase in the share of those who speak a language other than English at home in Nebraska.

The 2000 Census found that 57.8 percent of Nebraska's foreign-born population had arrived in the state since 1990. This demonstrates the effects of the current mass immigration, and it is much higher share 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 Nebraska increased by more than half, from 4.8 percent to 7.3 percent. Less than half (46%) of those who said they spoke a language other than English at home in 2000 also said they spoke English less than very well.

The Census Bureau’s American Community Survey found that in 2006, the foreign born population was 99,500 residents, an increase of 33.3% percent since 2000. In comparison, the foreign-born population changed from 28,198 to 74,638 residents between 1990 and 2000, an increase of 164.7 percent.

The ten countries below constituted 70.3% of the foreign-born population in Nebraska in 2006. Mexico accounted for 44.8%.

CONNECT TO LEGAL ADMISSION IMMIGRATION DATA

THE IMMIGRANT STOCK
The Census Bureau estimated that there were about 156,000 people in Nebraska 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 a population of 1,657,000, the immigrant stock share of the state's population was 9.1

As the graph below shows, the amount of Nebraska’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 111,700 people to the population. Over this period, the increase in the foreign stock has accounted for 41.7 percent of the state’s population increase.percent.

NATURALIZATION
Data from the 2006 American Community Survey indicate that 30,769 residents, or 30.9 percent, of the foreign-born population in Nebraska were citizens, compared to 23,918 residents, or 32.0 percent, in 2000.

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

SOCIAL AND OTHER ISSUES
Rural schools in Nebraska are bearing the brunt of large-scale immigrant settlement with the least amount of financial resources to deal with the soaring costs. State officials have not yet come up with an financial assistance plan. Almost the entire student population increase is comprised of immigrants who speak little or no English. The number of Spanish-only speaking students, whose migration is due to the booming cattle industry, has multiplied five-fold over the past five years. The schools are unprepared in terms of Spanish-language materials, and bilingual teachers to be able to offer English as a second language instruction. The prroblem is so acute that in many instances students and teachers end up able to communicate only with hand signals. (Source: EFE news service in Hispanicvista, May 23, 2000)

REFUGEE SETTLEMENT
Nebraska has received 4,430 refugees over the most recent ten fiscal years (FY'97-'06), with 298 arriving in FY’06.

 

Under the Office of Refugee Resettlement's (HHS/ORR) assistance funding for FY'02 $440,962 is available for refugee employment training and other services programs in Nebraska based on a three-year refugee settlement program covering 1,757 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 $1,116,593 and $1,437,556.

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.

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 Nebraksa as 3,796.  One school in Nebraska is listed as having a major concentration of these students:  University of Nebraska- Lincoln had enrollment of 1,587 foreign students, 7.2% of total enrollment.

Below, a chart illustrates the sharp increase of foreign students attending school in Nebraska from 1960-2000.

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

ILLEGAL ALIENS
 
FAIR Estimate - FAIR’s estimate of the state’s illegal alien population as of 2007 is about 45,000 persons. This is part of an overall estimate of the U.S. illegal alien population of about 13 million persons.

INS/DHS Estimate - The INS (now dissolved into the Dept. of Homeland Security) estimated in February 2003 that the resident illegal population in Nebraska was 24,000 as of January 2000. This number is more than 16,000 more than the INS' 1996 estimate.

Other Estimates - The Pew Hispanic Center estimates the illegal alien population of the state at 35,000 to 55,000 as of 2005.

COST OF ILLEGAL ALIENS

Incarceration Costs - Nebraska 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 Nebraska 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 109 prisoner years of detention. By FY’02, the state’s reported illegal alien detention increased by 88 percent to 205 prisoner years, while compensation fell by 18 percent but since has increased.

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 Nebraska, the proposed payment in fiscal year 2004 is $572,326.

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 Nebraska taxpayer $104.1 million dollars annually. This cost was partially for educating students who were themselves illegally in the country ($43.4 million) and in part for the education of their siblings born in the United States to illegal residents ($60.7 million).

Projected Fiscal Costs - In 2006 we estimated that Nebraska taxpayers are currently burdened with annual costs of about $126 million 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 $213 million per year in 2010 and to $367 million per year in 2020.

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.