Immigrants Were A Bigger Share Of The Population 100 Years Ago

Reading over this new study from the Pew Research Hispanic Center, this factoid stuck out: While the foreign-born population size is a record, immigrants’ share of the total population is below the U.S. peak of just under 15% during a previous immigration wave from 1890 to 1920 that was dominated by arrivals from Europe. Not only that, the rate of illegal immigration has actually slowed down since 2007. Granted, the results aren't statistically significant — it must be difficult to take a head count of people purposefully trying to avoid being detected. But another Pew study from last April shows that net migration from Mexico tailed off between 2005 and 2010. But that may speak more to the state of our own economy: The standstill appears to be the result of many factors, including the weakened U.S. job and housing construction markets, heightened border enforcement, a rise i...