Who are the immigrants?
Posted: Wednesday, June 27, 2007 11:42 PM EDT
As Congress deliberates possible changes in immigration policy, the national League of Women Voters is conducting a study that will lead to the adoption of a position on immigration. Following a process that should serve as a model to all of us, the League always studies the facts first, before having the discussions that lead to consensus and finally a formal position. As part of this study, we will run a series of informative columns this summer, and hold a public information meeting in the Fall.

Eighty-eight percent of the U.S. population are native citizens. This category includes everyone born in the United States, and individuals born outside of the U.S. to parents who are U.S. citizens. (About one percent of the population are native citizens who were born outside the US.) Everyone else, 12 percent of the population, is “foreign-born.â€