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! State population: 2,752,000 (1998 CB est.) !
! Foreign-born population: 33,000 (1998 CPS) !
! Percent foreign born: 1.2% (1998) !
! Foreign-born stock: 88,000 (1998 CB est.) !
! Illegal alien population: 3,700 (1996 INS est.) !
! New legal immigrants: 6,767 (1991 to 1997) !
! 2025 pop. projection: 3,142,000 (1996 CB proj.) !
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CENSUS DATA ON THE FOREIGN BORN
The 1990 Census recorded about 20,000 foreign-born residents in Mississippi. This was 4,000
fewer than were recorded in the 1980 Census. That level of foreign-born constitutes less than
one percent of the state's overall population -- compared with a 7.9% average nationwide.
German-born immigrants, which was the largest national group in 1980 had fallen by 271% in 1990 and into 2nd place behind immigrants born in Vietnam. Vietnamese immigrants had grown over the same period by 118%. Immigrants from the U.K. had not changed significantly, but dropped from 2nd rank to 3rd. Immigrants from Canada, the 3rd national group in 1980 had dropped to 6th after declining by 11%. The national groups that had moved into 4th and 5th most numerous were immigrants from India (up 67%) and from the Philippines (up 10%).
1980 Census 1990 Census 1 Germany 2,480 Vietnam 2,284 2 U.K. 1,691 Germany 1,807 3 Canada 1,258 U.K. 1,694 4 Sov.Un. 1,128 India 1,284 5 Vietnam 1,050 Philip. 1,144 6 Philip. 1,043 Canada 1,131 7 India 767 Korea 836 8 Japan 590 China 741 9 Korea 550 Mexico 702 10 Italy 482 Japan 682 All Others 12,488 All Others 8,078 Total 23,527 Total 20,383
The largest concentration of immigrants resided in 1990 in Biloxi, where the foreign born constituted 5.4% of the population. That immigrant population was more than one-third of the combined immigrant population of the Biloxi-Gulfport-Pascagoula metropolitan area. Of the 7,100 immigrants who lived in that metropolitan area, about two thirds lived in Harrison County, which includes Biloxi.
THE IMMIGRANT STOCK
There were about 88 thousand people in Mississippi in 1997 who may be considered "immgrant stock."
The immigrant stock is a term that refers to first generation immigrants, the "1.5 generation"
(children of immigrants who are born abroad), and the second generation (the native-born Americans whose parents immigrated).
1998 CURRENT POPULATION SURVEY (CPS) DATA
The Census Bureau's population estimate for Mississippi, based on 1988 CPS data, shows a
population increase of nearly 22,000 over a year earlier. The CPS data, led the Center for
Immigration Studies to put the foreign-born population at 33,000 a major decline from the
previous year. (Comment: Given the steady flow of new immigrants into the state we think it
unlikely the foreign-born population dropped, although it is possible as a result of deaths of older
immigrants and immigrants moving to other states. But, it seems more likely that the 1997 CPS
number may have been high and the 1998 number low as a result of sampling
error.)
Since the 1990 Census, the Census Bureau estimates that the state's population has increased by about 177,000. Only 6,500 of that increase is attributed to net international migration. About 800 of the net increase in immigrants located in the Jackson municipal area.
The 1997 CPS data also show Mississippi's foreign-born population being nearly twice as often naturalized U.S. citizens (68.4%) as the national rate (35.1%). This high rate typifies an older, more established immigrant population.
NET INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION
The Census Bureau estimates that Mississippi's population increased by 19,751 over the last
year (ending in July 1997). Compared to that overall increase, net international migration
accounted for an estimated increase of 776. Thus immigration accounted for about
four percent of the state's population increase. That places Missouri lowest among the states in
terms of immigration's impact on population growth.
INS DATA ON IMMIGRANT SETTLEMENT
Legal immigrant settlement in Mississippi since 1990 has averaged almost 1,000 per year. The data
for fiscal year (FY) 1991 were artificially raised by the inclusion of some of the former illegal
aliens who were amnestied in 1986.
Among the long-term resident amnesty applicants (excluding the amnestied agricultural workers), the number applying from Mississippi was 352.
The data for FY'95, and FY'97 were artificially low because
the INS was not able to issue green cards to all the applicants for adjustment of status who
were already in the United States. In those two years, new immigration could have registered
as much as 30 percent higher, if the INS had issued more visas.
INS data for legal immigrant settlement in Mississippi for fiscal years
1991-97 are available below:
POPULATION PROJECTION
The Census Bureau population projection noted above is the "middle" projection, and it assumes
immigration at a net annual increase of 820,000. There are other projections based on different
assumptions. In the Census Bureau's "high" immigration projection, assuming annual net
immigration of 1,370,000, the population in 2025 is more than six percent higher than in the
middle projection, and it is over 11 percent higher by 2050. For Mississippi, the high projection
could mean a population in 2050 of 3,800,000 to 4,400,000. If immigration were
significantly scaled back, the population increase attributable to immigration and the
population spill-over effects from other states could be significantly reduced over time. See Immigration and Population Growth
INS ESTIMATE OF ALIENS ELIGIBLE FOR CITIZENSHIP
ILLEGAL RESIDENT ALIENS
STATE CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION VOTING RECORD
FAIR, 12/99.
Immigrant settlement in Mississippi has risen since
the adoption of the current immigration system in 1965. Recent average settlement has been more than double the level of the late 1960s.
FY LEGAL IMMIGRATION
91 1,254 by nationality
92 842 by nationality
93 906 by nationality
94 815 by nationality
95 757 by nationality
96 1,073 by nationality
97 1,118 by nationality
Total 6,767 by nationality (below)
INS DATA BY NATIONALITY: FY'91-FY'97
The INS data below are the totals for the countries with the largest number of immigrants
admitted or adjusted to legal residence since 1990. The nationalities may change each year, so
the totals in some cases will not reflect all the immigrants of that nationality who have become
legal immigrants in Mississippi during the seven-year period. For example, data on German admissions include only five of the
seven years and for Nigeria data are available for only three years. The 23 nationalities (Hong Kong
and Taiwan included with mainland Chinese, and the former Soviet Union represented by Russia
and Ukraine since FY'96) represent over three-quarters (77%) of all immigrant settlement and
adjustment in Mississippi during this seven-year period. Canada 236
China * 695
Colombia 51
Cuba 87
Dominican Rep. 25
Germany + 195
Guatemala 33
Haiti 35
India 710
Iran 103
Honduras ++ 34
Jamaica 31
Japan ++ 37
Korea 108
Mexico 737
Nigeria ++ 93
Pakistan 98
Peru 38
Philippines 626
Poland 29
Soviet Union 83
United K. 287
Vietnam 811
Other 1,583
Total 6,765
* Includes Hong Kong and Taiwan when available
+ 5 yrs. of data available
++ 3 yrs. of data available
It helps to have a clear perspective of the past population change that the state has experienced
when considering the role of immigration in Mississippi's current and future population change.
Over the past 30 years, the population of the state has increased by about 20 percent. Most of
recent population growth has come from natural population change, e.g., birth rates, to which
immigrants also contribute, but net inter-state and international migration have also contributed
to that increase. Mississippi has one of the fastest growing rates of increase in foreign-born
settlement in the country. 
The 1997 Census Bureau population projection has Mississippi's population growing by 17%
between 1995 and 2025 (to 3,142,000). That is less than the national median rate of population
increase.
The INS estimates that as of April 1996 there were about 10,800 legal resident aliens in
Mississippi -- legal immigrants who had not yet become U.S. citizens -- of whom
6,500 had met the residency requirement to apply for citizenship. Included in this number
could be aliens who had already applied for naturalization and were in the processing waiting
list. The INS offices that handle naturalization cases and fingerprinting are located
at:
MCCOY FEDERAL BUILDING
100 W CAPITOL ST, SUITE B8
JACKSON, MS 39269
The INS currently estimates the resident illegal alien population of Mississippi to be about 3,700
as of October 1996. This is up by nearly one-third from the 2,800 that the INS estimated the
illegal alien population was in October 1992. ****************************************
* INS - Investigations - Mississippi: *
* Jackson (601) 965-5878 *
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