FAIR - Wyoming State Profile

________________________________________________________ ! State population: 481,000 (1998 CB est.) ! ! Foreign-born population: 6,000 (1998 CPS) ! ! Percent foreign born: 1.2% (1998) ! ! Immigrant stock: 32,000 (1997 CB est.) ! ! Illegal alien population: 1,700 (1996 INS est.) ! ! New legal immigrants: 7,209 (1991 to 1997) ! ! 2025 pop. projection: 694,000 (1996 CB proj.) ! !________________________________________________________!

1990 CENSUS DATA ON IMMIGRANT SETTLEMENT
In 1990, there were about 2,000 fewer foreign-born persons residing in Wyoming than ten years earlier (from 9,607 to 7,647). Thee overall population of the state also declined, by about 21,000 (from about 475,000 to 453,588). The largest foreign-born group in both 1980 and 1990 was from Mexico.

Foreign-Born Change Since 1980: Top Ten Countries 1980-1990

      1980 Census          1990 Census
1  Mexico       1,569   Mexico        1,985
2  Canada       1,089   Canada          823
3  U.K.         1,057   U.K.            782
4  Germany        833   Germany         636
5  Sov.Un.        333   China           242
6  Japan          237   Philip.         229
7  Korea          228   Japan           221
8  Greece         195   Korea           163
9  Austria        187   Sov.Un.         151
10 Ireland        181   France          138
   All Others   3,698   All Others    2,277
   Total        9,607   Total         7,647

In 1990, slightly more than one-third of the state's foreign-born population had arrived since 1980. Since 1990, INS data indicate that an average of about 300 new immigrants per year have identified Wyoming as their intended residence. In fiscal year 1996, the number was 280, and the country of origin of the largest share (94) was Mexico.

THE IMMIGRANT STOCK
There were about 32 thousand people in Wyoming 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 Wyoming, based on 1988 CPS data, shows an increase of only ablout 1,000 over a year earlier (to 481,000). The CPS data, led the Center for Immigration Studies to put the foreign-born population at 6,000 a decrease from a year earlier. (Comment: The foreign-born share of the population is more subject to sampling error in a state with a low share, like Wyoming.) Since the 1990 Census, the Census Bureau estimates that the state has increased in population by over 27,000. Only slightly more than 2,000 of that increase is attributed to net international migration.

1997 CURRENT POPULATION SURVEY (CPS) DATA
In 1997, the share of Wyoming's foreign born population that had become naturalized as U.S. citizens was about one third (36.1%). The two areas with the greatest net increase in new immigrants since 1990 were the Cheyenne area (+292) and Laramie area (+222).

POPULATION CHANGE 1900-2000
It helps to have a clear perspective of the past population change that the state has experienced when considering the role of immigration in Wyoming's current and future population change. Over the past 50 years, the population of the state has increased by about tw0-thirds. Most of recent population growth has come from natural increase (births minus deaths), but international and inter-state migration have also contributed.

POPULATION PROJECTION
The 1997 Census Bureau population projection has Wyoming's population growing by 45% between 1995 and 2025 (to 694,000). That is the 11th fastest projected rate of growth in the country.

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 Wyoming, the high projection could mean a population in 2050 of 950,000 to 970,000. 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
Immigrant settlement in Wyoming has risen since the adoption of the current immigration system in 1965. The recent rate of new immigrants is about fifty percent higher than the rate of the late 1960s.

Legal immigrant settlement in Wyoming since 1990 has averaged more than 300 per year. The data for fiscal year (FY) '91 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 Wyoming was 631. 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.

FY                  LEGAL IMMIGRATION
91                      566 by nationality
92                      281 by nationality
93                      263 by nationality
94                      217 by nationality
95                      252 by nationality
96                      280 by nationality
97                      252 by nationality
Total                 2,111 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 Wyoming during the seven-year period. Data on German admissions includes only five of the seven years and for Japan the admission data is available for only three years. The 16 nationalities (Hong Kong and Taiwan included with mainland Chinese, and the former Soviet Union represented by Russia and Ukraine since FY'96) represent over 78 percent of all immigrant settlement and adjustment in Wyoming during this seven-year period.

Canada                   148
China                    185
Colombia                  14
Germany                   58
India                     52
Iran                      14
Japan                     14
Korea                     47
Mexico                   759
Pakistan                  21
Peru                      24
Philippines              115
Poland                    19
Soviet Union              55
United K.                101
Vietnam                   17
Other                    468
Total                  2,111

ILLEGAL ALIENS
The INS estimates the illegal alien population in Wyoming at 1,700, a 21% increase over its previous estimate (October 1992). This level of illegal resident aliens suggests that more than one in five among the foreign-born population is in the U.S. in violation of our immigration law.

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*    INS - Investigations - Wyoming:    *
*        Cheyenne (307) 722-2040       *
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In late July and August 1996 the INS and other agencies identified 120 illegal aliens working in Wyoming. Nearly all of the aliens were from Mexico (97%) or Central America. The enforcement effort was conducted in 13 central states, and Wyoming accounted for the sixth largest number of the work site apprehensions after Texas, New Mexico, Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin.
(Source: INS News Release, September 5, 1996)

According to the state Department of Criminal Investigation in Cheyenne, Wyoming has seen a serious influx of both illegal immigrants and smuggled drugs. DCI Director Tom Pagel states, "The vast majority of this is being transported up from Mexico, and we're getting our butts kicked over it." According to White House Drug Policy Director Barry McCaffrey, "Colorado, Utah and Wyoming, the Rocky Mountain heartland of America, are increasingly becoming populated with Mexican drug trafficking organizations and violent gangs using this major transportation crossroads as a trans-shipment center." But, according to anti-drug treatment workers, the drugs, often methamphetamine, are not just passing through, they are increasingly being used by local youth.
Los Angeles Times, Dec. 10, 1997

Last spring 18 members of a drug ring run by a Mexican national were successfully prosecuted. the leader had been previously convicted twice in Colorado on drug charges, and had been deported each time. In October, police chalked up 18 arrests on drug, illegal immigrant and firearms charges , thirteen of the suspects being Mexican nationals.
Los Angeles Times, Dec. 10, 1997

STATE CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION VOTING RECORD
You can now access the voting record of your representatives in Congress regarding immigration issues with our scorecard page or go to numbersusa.com for their legislative scorecards. Just hit the back button to return to the FAIR Wyoming Page.

FAIR, 12/99.