What Happened?
The U.S. foreign-born population reached 50.2 million people in 2024, making up about 14.8 percent of the total U.S. population, according to a report by Congress (Congressional Research Service report). That share tied the highest proportion ever recorded, matching a peak last seen in 1890.
About 25.8 million of those residents are naturalized U.S. citizens, roughly half the foreign-born total. The unauthorized population was estimated between 14.6 million and 15.8 million people in 2024, about 30 percent of all foreign-born individuals in the country.
Why Does it Matter to Me?
The demographics of the United States are shifting.
The Trump administration terminated 13 of 17 Temporary Protected Status (TPS) country designations since March 2025. The U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) has been suspended since January 2025, with only 7,730 refugees admitted in the first nine months of fiscal year 2026, compared to 68,000 principal applicants granted asylum in all of fiscal year 2024.
An estimated 8.5 million lawful permanent residents were potentially eligible to apply for citizenship as of January 2025, and 436,350 people were covered by Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) as of June 30.
Both Sides, Now
In fiscal year 2024, the U.S. granted green cards to 1,364,090 people. Family ties drove 63 percent of those approvals, followed by refugees and asylees at 16 percent, employment-based immigrants at 13 percent, and the diversity visa lottery at four percent.
Supporters of the current enforcement push argue that tighter controls reduce unauthorized entry and prioritize legal pathways. Critics contend that suspending refugee admissions and ending TPS protections leaves vulnerable people without legal status and separates families already in the U.S.
What Happens Next?
The U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) has been suspended since January 2025, and the Trump administration has terminated Temporary Protected Status designations for 13 of 17 countries since March 2025. Congress could set new refugee ceilings or restore TPS designations through legislation, but no such bill has been scheduled for a vote.
The roughly 8.5 million permanent residents eligible to naturalize face no automatic deadline, but processing times and policy changes at the agencies handling applications can affect how quickly those cases move.
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