STATE POPULATION
The Census Bureau estimated that in July 2007 Idaho’s population had increased by an annual average of about 28,145 residents since 2000 (to 1,499,402 residents). Over that period, net immigration was adding about 2,400 persons each year (more immigrants arriving than leaving). During the same period there was an annual average population gain of about 13,755 residents from net domestic migration (more native-born residents arriving than leaving). Net immigrant settlement accounted directly for nearly one-tenth (8.5%) 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 the United States to immigrants (part of the immigrant stock) are not included as part of the immigration flow.]

The 2000 population is about 53,000 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.

Idaho had the 12th greatest rate of population increase in the country between 1960-2000.

The 1980 Census recorded 944,127 residents in Idaho. By 1990, the population had increased by 6.6 percent to 1,006,749 residents.

FOREIGN-BORN POPULATION

FAIR estimates that the foreign-born population of Idaho was about 84,890 residents in July 2007. This meant a foreign-born population share of 5.7 percent. The amount of change since the 2000 Census indicates an average annual rate of increase in the foreign-born population of about 2,850 people, about one-tenth (10.1%) of the state’s annual average population increase. Since 2000, the foreign-born population has increased by 32.5 percent compared to a 15 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 11.4 percent share of the state’s current births is large enough to account for about 2,500 births a year. Combining the increase in the foreign-born population and estimated immigrant births suggests that immigration may account for adding nearly 5,350 persons to the state’s population annually, i.e., nearly one-fifth (19%) of the state’s overall population increase

The 2000 Census recorded 64,080 foreign-born residents in the state. That was five percent of the state's overall population and an increase of 121.7 percent above the 1990 foreign-born population of 28,905 residents. That more than doubling of the immigrant population was much higher than the 25.8 percent increase in the native-born population. The amount of increase was not among the 25 highest in the country, but the rate of increase in the foreign-born population was the 13^th 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 12.2 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 19 percent of the state's population increase, based on the increase in the share of those in Idaho 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 Idaho increased by two-fifths, from 6.4 percent to nine percent. Less than half (41.6%) of those who said they spoke a language other than English at home in 2000 also said they spoke English less than very well.

The Census Bureau’s American Community Survey found that in 2006, the foreign born population was 82,040 residents, an increase of 28% percent since 2000. In comparison, the foreign-born population changed from 28,905 to 64,080 residents between 1990 and 2000, an increase of 121.7 percent.

The ten countries below constituted approximately three fourths (77.8%) of the foreign-born population in Idaho in 2006. Mexico accounted for nearly three fifths alone (57.6%)

 CONNECT TO LEGAL IMMIGRATION ADMISSION DATA

THE IMMIGRANT STOCK
The Census Bureau estimated that there were about 166,000 people in Idaho 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, the immigrant stock share of the state's population is 10.8 percent.

As the graph below shows, the amount of Idaho’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 91,900 people to the population. Over this period, the increase in the foreign stock has accounted for 13.6 percent of the state’s population increase.

NATURALIZATION
Data from the 2006 American Community Survey indicate that 27,036 residents, or 33 percent, of the foreign-born population in Idaho were citizens, compared to 21,203 residents, or 33.1 percent, in 2000.

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

 Refugee Settlement
Idaho has received 5,065 refugees over the most recent ten fiscal years (FY'97-'06) including 367 persons in FY’06

 

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 Idaho as 1,969.  Below, a chart illustrates the sharp increase of foreign students attending school in Idaho 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 35,000 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 Idaho was 19,000 as of January 2000. This number was 3,000 higher than the INS' 1996 estimate.

Other Estimates - The Pew Hispanic Center estimates the illegal alien population of the state at 25,000 to 45,000 as of 2005.

COST OF ILLEGAL ALIENS                                                            Incarceration Costs- Idaho 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 Idaho 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 Idaho's illegal alien inmate population had increased by 68 percent from the 188 inmate years in FY'99 to 316 inmate years in FY'02, while compensation was virtually unchanged, and subsequently dropped sharply.

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 Idaho, the proposed payment in fiscal year 2004 is $453,092.

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 Alabama taxpayer $65.5 million dollars annually. This cost was partially for educating students who were themselves illegally in the country ($27.3 million) and in part for the education of their siblings born in the United States to illegal residents ($38.2 million).

Projected Fiscal Costs- In 2006 we estimated that Alabama taxpayers are currently burdened with annual costs of about $84 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 $148 million per year in 2010 and to $264 million per year in 2020.

STATE CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION VOTING RECORD
You can view the voting record of your representatives in Congress regarding immigration issues in our voting report section.

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

Revised July 2008