New Study Finds Large Share of Births Are to Illegal Aliens

WASHINGTON -- While many advocates of high immigration argue that today’s immigration is no different from the previous great wave a century ago, the data tell a different story.

A new analysis of birth records from the Center for Immigration Studies shows that immigrants (legal illegal) accounted for a larger share of births in 2002 than in 1910, during the peak of the last great wave of immigration. The children born to immigrants are arguably the most important long-term legacy of immigration and are a key measure of its magnitude. The new report provides detailed information on births to immigrants for every state and many counties, including estimates for births to illegal aliens.

The study, entitled ’’Births to Immigrants in America, 1970 to 2002,’’ is embargoed until Thursday, July 7, at 10 a.m. EDT. Advance copies are available to the media. On the release date, the entire study will be available on line at www.cis.org.

The Center will formally release the report at a press conference on Thursday, July 7, at 10 a.m. at the Center’s Washington, D.C., office at 1522 K Street N.W.

For more information, contact the author of the report, Steven Camarota, at (202) 466-8185 or sac@cis.org.