Foreign-Born Emigration from the United States: 1990-2000

Tammany J. Mulder, U.S. Census Bureau

Statistics pertaining to the emigration of US residents, both native and foreign-born, represent a tremendous dearth in immigration statistics and in the ability to understand the overall movement and size of the foreign-born population. Following the termination of data collection on emigrants by the Immigration and Naturalization Service in the 1950’s, agencies produced estimates of emigration using indirect estimation methods. Currently, researchers rely on estimates of foreign-born emigration produced in 1994 for the 1980-1990 decade. This research presents new estimates of foreign-born emigration by country of birth and demographic detail for the 1990-2000 decade. Estimates of emigration for residents born in Mexico, the largest source country of legal and illegal immigration, are highlighted with comparisons of results from other censuses and surveys conducted in both Mexico and the United States.