Justice

The New Geography of American Immigration

The foreign-born population has declined in U.S. states that voted Democratic in 2016, and increased in states and metros that voted for Trump.
Stallone Laurel Dias, originally from India and a soldier in the U.S. Army, recites the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance after taking the oath to become a U.S. citizen during a ceremony in Boston, July 18, 2018.Brian Snyder/Reuters

President Trump’s crackdown on immigration is having its effect, but in unexpected ways. Overall, immigration to the U.S. has slowed dramatically, because it has declined in coastal states. However, perhaps ironically, it is Trump-voting states and metropolitan areas that have registered the largest gains in immigrants.

Those are some of the key takeaways from a new analysis of American Community Survey data by Brookings Institution demographer William Frey, a leading expert in the geography of immigration.