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Southern states lead nation in immigrant influx
By Ben Evans
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON — Immigrants continue to flock to Alabama and the rest of the Southeast at a faster pace than any to other region of the country, according to U.S. Census data released last week.

States like Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee saw their foreign-born populations jump by more than a third from 2000 to 2005, mostly because of Hispanic immigrants from countries such as Mexico and Guatemala, the data show. South Carolina saw a 47 percent increase, the highest in the country.

Alabama saw its immigrant population jump from 87,772 people in 2000 to 120,773 in 2005, an increase of 38 percent. The number of Hispanic immigrants rose from 35,574 in 2000 to 58,101 in 2005, or 63 percent.

Annette Watters, manager of Alabama State Data Center at The University of Alabama, said the influx is spread unevenly across the state depending on what types of jobs are available. Hispanic immigrants have moved into rural and urban areas to take agricultural and construction jobs, while coastal areas have seen a spike in Eastern European immigrants working in tourism jobs, she said.

Census data

The Census data estimate that Alabama's European-born population jumped from 18,415 to 21,129.

"People move where they can find a job," she said. "I think the numbers will continue to increase. Alabama's absorption of immigrants hasn't been as great as Georgia's or North Carolina's, and the fact that those two Southern states have been able to absorb more immigrants than we have leads me to believe that we haven't peaked."

Republican U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama said the immigrants are largely low-wage and low-skill workers who are helping to hold down wages for other Americans while draining resources from hospitals and schools.

"What we're doing through the illegal system is allowing a tremendous influx of immigrants who don't have high school diplomas and who statistically will draw much more from the government than they will pay in," Sessions said. "I think we should have comprehensive reform."

Experts say the reasons for the immigrant influx are simple: The South has an abundance of jobs and a relatively low cost of living.

"They're coming here for opportunities," said Douglas C. Bachtel, a University of Georgia demographer, adding that word spreads quickly among immigrant communities once an area catches on. "What happens is a migrant moves to a place and if they like it, they call home ... and say, 'Hey this place is pretty cool. You can sleep on my floor and I can help you get a job.' "

"So once it starts, it picks up steam," he said.
Raw totals

In raw totals, immigrant populations in Southern states still trail the national average and are far behind multicultural bastions like California, New York and New Jersey.

Georgia's immigrant population, for example, now makes up about 9 percent of the state's total population and Alabama's is less than 3 percent, compared with the nationwide immigrant population of more than 12 percent. California, with 27 percent of its residents from other countries, has the highest immigrant population in the country.

But the complexion of the South is changing rapidly, a trend that began showing up in the 2000 Census.
Through 2005, South Carolina saw the sharpest immigration increase from the 2000 figures, according to the latest data estimates, which come from the "American Community Survey," a new interim survey conducted by the Census Bureau. The number of foreign-born people living in the state jumped from 115,978 to 170,750. Hispanic immigrants accounted for the bulk of the trend, increasing 70 percent, from 49,608 to 84,274 people.

In Georgia, the number of foreign-born residents jumped from 577,273 to 795,419, or by 38 percent. The Latin-born population, again the largest subsection of immigrants, climbed 46 percent from 300,357 to 439,755.

Similar trends occurred in Tennessee, with a 40-percent increase in immigration; Arkansas, with 37 percent; and North Carolina, with 30 percent.

Bachtel, at the University of Georgia, said the Census probably has underestimated the trend because so many immigrants are undocumented. He would multiply the figures by 1.5.

"The official numbers are just the tip of the iceberg," Bachtel said. "Nobody knows what it really is."
Because immigrants are frequently young and of childbearing age, immigration often has the most immediate impact on schools, as well as hospitals, Bachtel and other experts said. For example, in Alabama, the Census estimates that 172,656 people do not speak English at home.

"That's 170,000 people that might need language assistance," said Robert Kominski, assistant chief for social and demographic statistics at the Census Bureau. "That has a real impact."
Southern immigration by state

Southern states continue to see a rapid increase in immigrant populations. This table lists the percentage increase in immigrant populations in Southern states from 2000 to 2005, from highest to lowest. State Percent change
S. Carolina 47.2 percent
Tennessee 40.3 percent
Georgia 37.8 percent
Alabama 37.6 percent
Arkansas 37.3 percent
N. Carolina 30.4 percent
Kentucky 23.1 percent
Florida 20.3 percent
Mississippi 8.6 percent
Louisiana 4.9 percent
SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau
— The Associated Press


Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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