STATE POPULATION                                                                       The Census Bureau estimated that in July 2007 Connecticut’s population had increased by an annual average of about 13,250 residents since 2000 (to 3,502,309 residents). Over that period, net immigration was adding about 13,385 persons each year (more immigrants arriving than leaving). During the same period there was an annual average population loss of about 10,695 residents from net domestic migration (more native-born residents leaving than arriving). Net immigrant settlement accounted for all of the 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.

 
 

The 2000 population represented about 120,000 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 1997. 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.

Connecticut had the 31st greatest rate of population increase in the country between 1960-2000.

The Census Bureau estimated from the 1999 Current Population Survey (CPS) that Connecticut's population decreased by about 5,000 (-0.2%) since 1990, while having an increase of over 73,000 people from net international migration (immigration). During the same period there was a net domestic migration outflow of about 226,000 more Connecticut residents leaving for other states than migrants from other states to Connecticut. That net outflow continued between 1998 and 1999, with a further outflow of over 9,000 residents while a net increase of over 5,000 resulted from immigration.

Connecticut's population increased between 1980 and 1990 by about 5.6 percent (from about 3,114,000 to 3,287,116).

FOREIGN-BORN POPULATION                                                         FAIR estimates that the foreign-born population of Connecticut was about 465,435 residents in July 2007. This meant a foreign-born population share of 13.3 percent. The amount of change since the 2000 Census indicates an average annual rate of increase in the foreign-born population of about 13,080 people, which is nearly all (98.7%) of the state’s annual average population increase. Since 2000, the foreign-born population has increased by 25.8 percent compared to virtually no change 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 26.6 percent share of the state’s current births is large enough to account for about 11,160 births a year. Combining the increase in the foreign-born population and estimated immigrant births suggests that immigration may account for adding nearly 22,240 persons to the state’s population annually, i.e., almost double (182.9%) the state’s overall population increase

The 2000 Census recorded 369,967 foreign-born residents in the state. That was 10.9 percent of the state's overall population and an increase of 32.4 percent above the 1990 foreign-born population of 279,383 residents. That increase in the immigrant population by about one third is much higher than the 0.9 percent increase in the native-born population. The amount of increase was the 22^nd highest in the country. However, the rate of increase in the foreign-born population was not among the highest 25 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 76.5 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 96 percent of the state's population increase, based on the increase in the share of those in Connecticut who speak a language other than English at home.
 

The 2000 Census found that 39 percent of Connecticut's foreign-born population had arrived in the state since 1990. This demonstrates the effects of the current mass immigration, although it is a lower share than the national average (43.7%). In 1990, over one-third (34.4%) of Connecticut's foreign-born population had arrived since 1980.

An indicator of the increase 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 the population in Connecticut that were non-English speakers at home increased from 15.2 percent to 18.3 percent. Less than one-quarter (22.5%) 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 state’s foreign born population was 452,358 residents, an increase of 22.3% percent since 2000. In comparison, the foreign-born population changed from 279,383 to 369,967 residents between 1990 and 2000, an increase of 32.4 percent.

 The ten countries below constituted 47.0% of the foreign-born population in Connecticut in 2006.

THE IMMIGRANT STOCK
The Census Bureau estimated that there were about 806 thousand people in Connecticut 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, the immigrant stock share of the state's population was about 23.7 percent in 2000 -- the 10^th largest share in the country.

The graph below shows the amount of Connecticut’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 487,100 people to the population. Over this period, the increase in the foreign stock has accounted for all percent of the state’s population increase and then some (102.2%), because the state had a net loss of native-born residents.

NATURALIZATION
Data from the 2006 American Community Survey indicate that 211,832 residents, or 46.8 percent, of the foreign-born population in Connecticut were citizens, compared to 180,267 residents, or 48.7 percent, in 2000.  

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

Refugee Settlement
Connecticut has received 6,660 refugees over the most recent ten fiscal years (FY'97-'06) including 327 persons in FY’06

 

Under the Office of Refugee Resettlement's (HHS/ORR) assistance funding for FY'02 $787,808 is available for refugee employment training and other services programs in Connecticut based on a three-year refugee settlement program covering 3,139 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 $1,652,359 and $1,689,718.

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 enroled in Limited English Proficiency (LEP) 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.

Data on enrollment in LEP programs is collected by the federal government from school systems that receive Title VII funds for these special instruction programs. The data above on LEP enrollment are compiled by the National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education (NCBE), a body funded by the U.S. Department of Education. The data on LEP and Non-LEP enrollment are understated because data on enrollment in 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 Connecticut as 7,403. Three schoola in Connecticut are listed as having a major concentration of these students:

Yale University had enrollment of 2,026 foreign students, 17.7% of total enrollment.

Univeristy of Connecticut had enrollment of 1,116 foreign students, 5.7% of total enrollment.

University of Bridgeport had enrollment of 1,423 foreign students, 35.4% of total enrollment.

Below, a chart illustrates the sharp increase of foreign students attending school in Connecticut 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 115,000 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 Connecticut was 39,000 as of January 2000. This number was 10,000 higher than the INS' 1996 estimate.

Other Estimates - The Pew Hispanic Center estimates the illegal alien population of the state at 70,000 to 100,000 as of 2005.

COST OF ILLEGAL ALIENS
Incarceration Costs Connecticut 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 Connecticut 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 Connecticut's illegal alien inmate population had increased by 21 percent from the 309 inmate years in FY'99 to 375 inmate years in FY'02, while compensation decreased by 48 percent.

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 Connecticut, the proposed payment in fiscal year 2004 is $930,030.

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 Connecticut taxpayer $228.5 million dollars annually. This cost was partially for educating students who were themselves illegally in the country ($95.2 million) and in part for the education of their siblings born in the United States to illegal residents ($133.3 million).

Projected Fiscal Costs - In 2006 we estimated that the Connecticut taxpayer is currently burdened with annual costs of about $112 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 $441 million per year in 2010 and to $766 million per year in 2020.

OTHER
FAIR estimates that the net cost of Connecticut's foreign-born population was over $79 million in 1995 due to the public services they consume and their displacement of American workers throughout the state. This estimate is derived from the research of Dr. Donald Huddle, an economist associated with Rice University.

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.

Revised July 08