BREAKING NEWS

Immigrants will drive US population growth in next five decades, new study shows

Immigrants and their descendants will drive US population growth over the next half century, transforming the country into one where no racial or ethnic group is a majority, a Pew Research Center report released on Monday said.
If current trends continue, immigrants and their descendants are projected to account for the vast majority - 88 percent - of the population growth by 2065 in the US, where 324 million now live, according to Pew.
"Without the immigrants, the US population would start decreasing," said Pew demographer Jeff Passel, among those who worked on the report.
"The big picture is that immigration has been the major demographic factor driving growth and change in the US population over the last 50 years," he added.
For its report, which takes a 100-year look at US immigration, Pew analyzed census data, population projections and conducted a survey that collected opinions on immigrants.
The bilingual online survey of 3,147 adults was conducted from March 10 to April 6 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.4 percent.
Forty-five percent of Americans said immigrants in the US are making society better in the long run and 37 percent say they are making it worse, the report said. Sixteen percent say they are not having much effect.
About half of respondents said immigrants are making the economy and crime worse, but about the same percentage believe immigrants are improving food, music and the arts, the report said.