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! State population: 5,431,000 (1998 CB est.) !
! Foreign-born population: 85,000 (1998 CPS) !
! Percent foreign born: 1.6% (1998) !
! Immigrant stock: 211,000 (1997 CB est.) !
! Illegal alien population: 13,000 (1996 INS est.) !
! New legal immigrants: 26,810 (1991 to 1997) !
! 2025 pop. projection: 6,665,000 (1996 CB proj.) !
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1990 CENSUS DATA ON IMMIGRANT SETTLEMENT
From 1960 to 1990, Tennessee's foreign-born population more than tripled from 15,843 to
59,114. Between 1980 and 1990 Tennessee's overall population increased by 6.1 percent (from about 4,595,000 to 4,877,185), while
the foreign-born share of the population was increasing by 22.2 percent. The countries of
origin of the foreign born which accounted for the bulk of the increase were all Asian except for
Mexico. The Asian countries of major increase were India, Japan, Philippines, Laos, China and
Taiwan.
1980 Census 1990 Census 1 Germany 6,454 Germany 6,458 2 U.K. 3,923 U.K. 4,201 3 Canada 3,197 Canada 4,087 4 Korea 1,978 India 3,283 5 Sov.Un. 1,632 Korea 2,965 6 India 1,602 Japan 2,577 7 Japan 1,473 Philip. 2,209 8 Philip. 1,251 Laos 2,133 9 Iran 1,163 Mexico 1,972 10 Vietnam 1,102 China 1,740 All Others 24,594 All Others 27,489 Total 48,369 Total 59,114
Nearly 40% of Tennessee's foreign-born population in 1990 had arrived since 1980. Since 1990 INS data indicate that the annual average of new legal immigrants identifying Tennessee as their intended state of residence has been about 3.700.
In 1997, nearly two-thirds (66.3%)Tennessee's foreign-born population were not naturalized citizens. This is about the national average (64.9%).
THE IMMIGRANT STOCK
1998 CURRENT POPULATION SURVEY (CPS) DATA
1997 CURRENT POPULATION SURVEY (CPS) DATA
The 1997 CPS data indicate that an estimated 33.7 percent of the foreign-born population have
become naturalized as U.S. citizens. This is only slightly lower than the national average of 35.1
percent.
NET INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION
CITY DATA -- MEMPHIS, and NASHVILLE-DAVIDSON
METROPOLITAN AREA DATA -- MEMPHIS
The Nashville metropolitan area was rated by ReliaStar Financial Corp. in 1998 as
the No. 28 city in the US (out of 100) "to Earn and Save Money." Our analysis of the ReliaStar
ratings shows that the highest ranked cities have slower growing immigrant populations than the
lowest ranked cities. The Nashville metropolitan area had a 1.8 percent foreign-born
share in 1990 (compared to the national average of 7.9%) and 6.9 percent of its 115,000
population increase (1990-97) was due to net international immigration (compared to the national
average of 30%). For further details, see Cities Index
POPULATION CHANGE 1900-2000
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 Tennessee, the high projection
could mean a population in 2050 of 8,500,000 to 9,700,000. If today's mass 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 DATA ON IMMIGRANT SETTLEMENT
Legal immigrant settlement in Tennessee since 1990 has averaged over 3,800 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 Tennessee was 1,062.
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 BY NATIONALITY: FY'91 - FY'97
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 Tennessee during the seven-year
period. For example, data on Japanese and Nigerians are included for only three of the seven
years. The 29 nationalities (Hong Kong and Taiwan included with mainland Chinese, and Russia
and Ukraine included with Soviet Union) represent over two-thirds of all immigrant
settlement and adjustment in Tennessee during this seven-year period.
OTHER
In 1995, 75 Tennessee farmers legally hired 387 foreign workers through the Labor Department's
foreign temporary worker (H-2A) program, up from 60 farmers taking in 287 workers in FY94.
These workers are not supposed to be admitted for work unless the employer attests that there
are no American workers with the appropriate skills available to take the jobs. Davidson County,
Tennessee surrounding Nashville, has a 3% unemployment rate.
STATE CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION VOTING RECORD
FAIR, 12/99.
There were about 211 thousand people in Tennessee 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).
The Census Bureau's population estimate for Tennessee, based on 1988 CPS data. shows a
population increase by about 59,000 over a year earlier (from 5,371,693 to 5,430,621). The immigrant population is estimated to
have increased by over 6,300, more than 10 percent of the rise. The CPS data, led the Center for
Immigration Studies to put the foreign-born population at 85,000. Since the
1990 Census, the Census Bureau estimates that the state has increase by over 337,000 as a result
of net domestic migration, and by over 27,000 resulting from net international migration.
About 52 percent of the immigrant increase since 1990 was accounted for by the Nashville
(+6,179) and Memphis (+4,694) areas. Both of those metropolitan areas also experienced greater
net population decreases from domestic out-migration than the offsetting net immigration
increase over the same period.
The Census Bureau estimates that Tennessee's population grew by 60,817 over the last year
(ending in July 1997). Of that amount of increase, 3,353 (5.5%) was attributed to net
international migration (arrivals minus departures). Tennessee is thus near the bottom in a
national ranking of immigration's impact on the states.
The metropolitan area with the largest number of immigrants is Memphis, with about 14,000 (or
about 1.4% of its population. The metropolitan area with the highest concentration of foreign-
born residents is Clarksville-Hopkinsville--its 5,000 immigrants represent about 2.8% of its
population. Knoxville has an immigrant population of about 8,000, or about 1.3% of its
population.
It helps to have a clear perspective of the past population change that the state has experienced
when considering the role of immigration in Tennessee's current and future population change.
Over the past 50 years, the population of the state has nearly doubled. Most of
recent population growth has come from net inter-state and international migration rather than
from natural population change. 
The 1997 Census Bureau population projection has Tennessee's population growing by 27 percent
between 1995 and 2025 (to 6,665,000). That is the 19th fastest projected rate of growth in the
country. The rate of increase in the foreign-born population between 1980 and 1990 was
even higher than the projected rate, and it is clear that the projection contemplates continued
high-volume immigrant settlement in the state.
Immigrant settlement in Tennessee has risen since
the adoption of the current immigration system in 1965. The recent rate of new immigrants is more than triple the rate of the late 1960s.
FY LEGAL IMMIGRATION
91 3,828 by nationality
92 2,995 by nationality
93 4,287 by nationality
94 3,608 by nationality
95 3,392 by nationality
96 4,343 by nationality
97 4,357 by nationality
Total 26,810 by nationality (below)
The INS data below are furnished for nationals of the countries with the largest number of
immigrants admitted or adjusted to legal residence each year since 1990. The absence of data
means that the total number of admissions to the United States by nationals of that country were
not enough to merit detailed reporting in that year.Bangladesh + 73
Canada 1,221
China * 2,000
Colombia 120
Cuba 160
Dominican R. 54
Ecuador ++ 30
El Salvador 113
Germany ++ 460
Guatemala 110
Guyana 70
Haiti 236
India 2,139
Iran 570
Ireland +++ 108
Jamaica 88
Japan + 166
Korea 637
Mexico 2,132
Nigeria + 184
Pakistan 339
Peru 129
Philippines 1,060
Poland 233
Soviet Union 1,208
United K. 937
Vietnam 3,032
Yugoslavia + 385
Other 8,772
Total 26,810
* Includes Hong Kong and Taiwan when available
+ 3 yrs. of data available
++ 5 yrs. of data available
+++ 4 yrs. of data available
The INS estimates that in October 1996, there were estimated to be about 13,000 illegal aliens
residing in Tennessee. That estimate was over a third (37%) higher than the INS estimate for
October 1992 (9,500). ****************************************
* INS - Investigations - Tennessee: *
* Memphis (901) 544-0256 (x.136) *
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About 3% of Tennessee's population speaks a language other than English at home.
(Source: Nashville Banner, December 9, 1996)
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