STATE POPULATION
The Census Bureau The Census Bureau estimated that in July 2007 Georgia’s population had increased by an annual average of about 186,020 residents since 2000 (to 9,544,750 residents). Over that period, net immigration was adding about 32,990 persons each year (more immigrants arriving than leaving). During the same period there was an annual average population gain of about 66,425 residents from net domestic migration (more native-born residents arriving than leaving). Net immigrant settlement accounted directly for more than one-sixth (17.7%) of the population increase over this period, and that does not include the children born to the immigrants after their arrival in the United States.

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

The 2000 population is about 300,000 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.

Georgia's population increased from 1980 to 1990 by slightly more than one-sixth (from 5,462,982 to 6,478,216).

Georgia had the 6th greatest rate of population increase in the country between 1960-2000..

FOREIGN-BORN POPULATION                                                           

FAIR estimates that the foreign-born population of Georgia was about 904,400 residents in July 2007. This meant a foreign-born population share of 9.5 percent. The amount of change since the 2000 Census indicates an average annual rate of increase in the foreign-born population of about 44,810 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 56.7 percent compared to a 13.5 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 19 percent share of the state’s current births is large enough to account for about 25,995 births a year. Combining the increase in the foreign-born population and estimated immigrant births suggests that immigration may account for adding nearly 70,800 persons to the state’s population annually, i.e., nearly two-fifths (38.1%) of the state’s overall population increase.

The 2000 Census recorded 577,273 foreign-born residents in the state. That was 7.1 percent of the state's overall population and an increase of 233.4 percent above the 1990 foreign-born population of 173,126 residents. That more than tripling of the immigrant population was much higher than the 20.7 percent increase in the native-born population. The amount of increase was the seventh highest in the country. The rate of increase in the foreign-born population was the second highest in the country.

The 2000 Census found that 59.7 percent of Georgia's foreign-born population had arrived in the state since 1990. This demonstrates the effects of the current mass immigration, and it is a much higher share than the national average (43.7%).

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 23.7 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 more likely to account for about 29 percent of the state's population increase, based on the increase in the share of those in Georgia who speak a language other than English at home.

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 Georgia increased by more than 80 percent, from 4.8 percent to 8.8 percent. Less than half (49.8%) 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 segment of the foreign-born population that had become U.S. citizens as of 2000 was 29.3 percent -- much lower than the 35 percent national average.

Between the 2000 Census and the Census Bureau estimate for 2006, the foreign-born population in Georgia increased by more than 282,000 persons (48.9%). Latin America (including Mexico) accounted for an increase of more than 179,500 immigrants (59.6%). Mexico alone accounted for an increase of nearly 86,000 additional immigrants (up 60.4%). Immigrants from Asia grew by 41% (about 60,500 people). Immigrants from Africa rose by 72.1% (more than 29,100). The immigrant population from Europe and Canada increased by more than 13,600 persons (15.3%).

CONNECT TO LEGAL IMMIGRATION ADMISSIONS DATA

CONNECT TO STATE OPINION POLL DATA

THE IMMIGRANT STOCK
The Census Bureau estimated that there were about 541,000 people in Georgia 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 estimated population of 8,186,453, the immigrant stock share of the state's population was about 6.6 percent in 2000.

As the graph below shows, the amount and share of 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 859,100 people to the population. Over this period, the increase in the foreign stock has accounted for 20.3 percent of the state’s population increase.

NATURALIZATION
Data from the 2006 American Community Survey indicate that 271,234 residents or 31.6 percent, of the foreign-born population in Georgia were citizens, compared to 169,232 residents, or 29.3 percent, in 2000.

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

Refugee Settlement
Georgia has received 23,573 refugees over the most recent ten fiscal years (FY'97-'06) including 1,540 persons in FY’06.

 

Under the Office of Refugee Resettlement's (HHS/ORR) assistance funding for FY'02 $7,375,880 is available for refugee employment training and other services programs in California based on a three-year refugee settlement program covering 29,389 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 $7,336,655 and $6,947,431

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 Georgia as 12,183. One school in Georgia is listed as having a major concentration of these students:

Georgia Institute of Technology had enrollment of 3,274 foreign students, 18.3% of total enrollment.

Georgia State University had enrollment of 1,414 foreign students, 5.5% of total enrollment

University of Georgia  had enrollment of 1,267 foreign students, 3.7% of total enrollment

Emory University had enrollment of 1,219 foreign students, 9.9% of total enrollment

Below, a chart illustrates the sharp increase of foreign students attending school in Georgia from 1960-2007.

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

SOCIAL AND OTHER ISSUES
FAIR estimates that the net cost of Georgia's foreign-born population was over $907 million in 1995 due to the public services they consume and their displacement of American workers throughout the state.

ILLEGAL ALIENS

FAIR Estimate - FAIR’s estimate of the state’s illegal alien population as of 2007 is about 440,000 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 Georgia was 228,000 as of January 2000. This number was nearly  200,000 higher than the INS' 1996 estimate.The most recent estimate by DHS put the illegal poulation in the state at 490,000 in 2006.

Other Estimates - The Pew Hispanic Center estimates the illegal alien population of the state at 350,000 to 450,000 as of 2005.

COST OF ILLEGAL ALIENS
Incarceration Costs- Georgia 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 Georgia 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. SCAAP data indicate that Georgia's illegal alien inmate population had increased by 103 percent from the 664 inmate years in FY'99 to 1,350 inmate years in FY'02, while compensation increased by four percent, but then dropped significantly.

In mid-May 1998, during the harvest of the $90 million Vidalia onion crop in southeastern Georgia, the INS launched operation "Southern Denial" and apprehended 21 illegal alien workers in Glennville. The INS action led to a political firestorm reportedly involving House Speaker Gingrich and negotiations between the INS and the Georgia onion growers that led to a halt to INS enforcement actions. The growers for their part were asked to agree to avoid hiring illegal alien workers next year and participation in a document verification program. Sen. Coverdell (R- GA) complained that the INS used "indiscriminate and inappropriate ...tactics against... honest farmers..." The INS action may have been triggered by a dispute between several of the 215 growers and the Department of Labor in 1997 over their interest in hiring temporary foreign agricultural workers in the H-2A program. The growers withdrew their applications when the DOL refused to approve them unless the growers agreed to pay the prevailing wage of 80 cents per 50-pound bag harvested. The growers insisted that the prevailing wage was 75 cents for a 60-pound bag. Another issue of contention was that the growers would have to provide free housing for the 1,200 H-2A temporary workers they were requesting as well as for their American workers. (Washington Post, July 5, 1998, Chicago Tribune, May 28, 1998)

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 Georgia, the proposed payment in fiscal year 2004 is $5,437,098.

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 Georgia taxpayer $952 million dollars annually. This cost was partially for educating students who were themselves illegally in the country ($396.7 million) and in part for the education of their siblings born in the United States to illegal residents ($555.3 million).

Projected Fiscal Costs- In 2006 we estimated that Georgia taxpayers are currently burdened with annual costs of about $1.199 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 $2.058 bllion per year in 2010 and to $3.595 bilion per year in 2020.

LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS
You can view a listing of local immigration reform organizations 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.

Revised July 2008