47% of U.S. foreign-born population in past decade was college-educated
Last July 4, Vice President Pence and Karen Pence posed with new Americans after a naturalization ceremony at the National Archives. Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP
Nearly half of the foreign-born population that moved to the U.S. over the 10-year stretch from 2010 to 2019 went to college, a level of education greatly exceeding immigrants from previous decade, AP reports.
Why it matters: The arrival of highly skilled workers supplanted workers in fields like construction that shrunk after the Great Recession.
By the numbers: Data released this week from the Census Bureau indicates that 47% of the foreign-born population that arrived in the U.S. from 2010 to 2019 had a bachelor's degree or higher.
We've reported this before, but reminding you: Immigration from Latin America has been declining for over a decade.
- Until 2008, Mexico was the greatest source of new immigrants in the U.S. Now, China and India are the largest "source countries."
In fact, in the past several years, more Mexicans living in the U.S. went back than came north across the border.
- Why it's happening: Plummeting fertility rates in Mexico starting two decades ago shrunk the number of young job-seekers who would have headed north to the U.S.