Approximately 3.8 million illegal immigrants have entered the United States since President Joe Biden took office, according to a new analysis of census data done by the Center for Immigration Studies, bringing the total illegal immigrant population to approximately 13.8 million.
In all, CIS estimates that 15.6% of the population is now foreign born, an all-time record high. The previous record was set in 1890 at 14.8%.
Just 17 years later, President Theodore Roosevelt signed the Immigration Act of 1907, severely restricting immigration into the U.S. The number of foreign-born people fell steadily after that, reaching a low of 4.7% in 1970. But the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 dramatically liberalized immigration policy, and the percentage of foreign born has steadily risen ever since.
As the percentage of foreign born has risen, so have feelings of alienation and divisiveness. According to Pew, of 24 countries surveyed, adults in the U.S. felt the least connection to their fellow citizens. The country that felt the closest to their fellow countrymen? Hungary, where just 5.3% of the population is foreign born.
This lack of connection to other people should not be surprising considering the record-high numbers of foreign born. Research shows that in ethnically diverse neighborhoods, “trust (even of one’s own race) is lower, altruism and community cooperation rarer, friends fewer.”
Perhaps this is why record-high numbers of people view immigration as the top issue facing our country, with 55% seeing illegal immigration as a “critical threat” to the nation.
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For his part, flooding the nation with immigrants is one promise Biden can say he not only kept but exceeded expectations. While campaigning for president in 2019, Biden told voters, “We could afford to take, in a heartbeat, another 2 million people. The idea that a country of 330 million people cannot absorb people who are in desperate need and who are justifiably fleeing oppression is absolutely bizarre, absolutely bizarre.”
Biden promised 2 million more immigrants. He delivered 3.8. Lucky us.