California Immigration Ratings

Hispanic Population

13,219,000

% of State Population

36%

Undocumented Residents

2,700,000

View Ratings Information

California has been a major “gateway” for immigrants to this country since it became a state in 1848 and is home to the largest numbers of immigrants, Latinos, and Asians in the country. As a result, California exemplifies the enormous political and economic clout of immigrants and accounts for innumerable stories of immigrant success in climbing the socioeconomic ladder over time.

Today, more than one-in-four Californians is an immigrant, and nearly half of Californians are Latino or Asian. Immigrants and their adult children account for roughly one-in-four of the state’s registered voters. Latino and Asian entrepreneurs own more than one-quarter of all businesses in the state, while Latino and Asian consumers account for nearly one-third of the state’s total purchasing power. Latino immigrants in California experience pronounced upward mobility over time in terms of mastering English and owning their own homes. And most native-born Californians have experienced wage gains from the presence of immigrants in the state’s labor market. These hard-working Californians have formed the backbone of the California economy throughout the state’s history, and they will be a key ingredient to California’s economic rebound.

U.S. Senatorial Voting Record:
Immigration Legislation Immigration Reform

Senator Boxer (D)

Senator Feinstein (D)

	HS News Grading
Votes	Boxer	Feinstein
Border Security- Vote to Deny funding to complete 700 miles of border fence.(S.Amdt 1399 to S.Amdt 1373 to HR 2892)	F	F
Deportation- Vote for Funding of Sanctuary Policies for Unauthorized Immigrants.(SAmdt.2630 to HR 2847)	A	A
Workforce- Vote to NOT mandate that all companies with federal contracts verify all employees through E-verify(S.Amdt 1371 to S.Amdt 1373 to HR 2892)	A	A
Workforce-Vote Not to extend E-Verify for six years (S.Amdt 604 to HR 1105)	A	A
Co-Sponsored DREAM ACT- Development Relief, and education for Alien Minors Act of 2009( S. 729)	A	A
Overall State Grade:	A

The Immigration Policy Center (IPC) is the research and policy arm of the American Immigration Council. IPC's mission is to shape a rational conversation on immigration and immigrant integration. Through its research and analysis, IPC provides policymakers, the media, and the general public with accurate information about the role of immigrants and immigration policy on U.S. society. IPC reports and materials are widely disseminated and relied upon by press and policy makers. IPC staff regularly serves as experts to leaders on Capitol Hill, opinion-makers and the media. IPC, formed in 2003 is a non-partisan organization that neither supports nor opposes any political party or candidate for office.

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State Facts

More than one-quarter of Californians are immigrants.

The foreign-born share of California’s population rose from 21.7% in 1990, to 26.2% in 2000, to 27.4% in 2007, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. California was home to 10 million immigrants in 2007, which is roughly equal to the total population of Georgia.
43.6% of immigrants (or 4.4 million people) in California were naturalized U.S. citizens in 2007 (up from 31.2% in 19907)—meaning that they are eligible to vote.
24.4% (or 13.2 million) of all registered voters in California are “New Americans”— naturalized citizens or the U.S.-born children of immigrants who were raised during the current era of large-scale immigration from Latin America and Asia which began in 1965—according to an analysis of 2006 Census Bureau data by Rob Paral & Associates.

Nearly half of Californians are Latino or Asian—and they vote.

The Latino share of California’s population grew from 25.8% in 1990,9 to 32.4% in 2000,10 to 36.2% (or 13.2 million people) in 2007. The Asian share of the population grew from 9.2% in 1990, to 10.9% in 2000, to 12.3% (or 4.5 million people) in 2007, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Latinos comprised 21.4% (or 3 million) of California voters in the 2008 elections, and Asians 9.7% (or 1.3 million), according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The number of Latino and Asian voters is one million more than the margin of victory (3.3 million votes) by which Barack Obama defeated John McCain.

Immigrant workers, entrepreneurs, and taxpayers are integral to California’s economy.

“Immigrants comprise more than one-third of the California labor force. They figure prominently in key economic sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing and services. Immigrants provide leadership and labor for the expansion of California’s growing economic sectors—from telecommunications and information technology to health services and housing construction,” according to the California Immigrant Policy Center.
Immigrants in California pay roughly $30 billion in federal taxes, $5.2 billion in state income taxes, and $4.6 billion in sales taxes each year. In California, “the average immigrant-headed household contributes a net $2,679 annually to Social Security, which is $539 more than the average US-born household.”
Immigrants in Los Angeles County account for nearly 36% of the county’s total consumer purchasing power and over 40% of its total economic product, according to a study by Manuel Pastor and Rhonda Ortiz at the University of Southern California.
Unauthorized immigrants comprised 9.9% of the California’s workforce in 2008 (or 1.9 million workers), according to a report by the Pew Hispanic Center.
If all unauthorized immigrants were removed from California, the state would lose $164.2 billion in expenditures, $72.9 billion in economic output, and approximately 717,000 jobs, even accounting for adequate market adjustment time, according to a report by the Perryman Group.

Latinos and Asians account for more than one-quarter of California’s businesses and buying power.

The 2008 purchasing power of California’s Latinos ($249 billion) and Asians ($162.8 billion) is the highest of any state in the nation. Together, Latinos and Asians account for roughly 30% of the state’s total consumer purchasing power. Since 1990, the purchasing power of Latinos in California has increased by 258.4%, and the purchasing power of Asians by 271.7%, according to the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia.
California’s 427,678 Latino-owned businesses had sales and receipts of $57.2 billion and employed 445,820 people in 2002, the last year for which data is available. The state’s 371,530 Asian-owned businesses had sales and receipts of $125.8 billion and employed 745,874 people. Together, businesses owned by Latinos and Asians comprised more than one- quarter of all businesses in the state, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2002 Survey of Business Owners.

Most native-born Californians have experienced wage gains from immigration.

“During 1990–2004, immigration induced a 4 percent real wage increase for the average native worker,” according to a 2007 study by economist Giovanni Peri of the University of California, Davis.
The reason for wage increases is that “immigrant workers often serve as complements to native workers rather than as their direct competitors for jobs, thereby increasing total economic output. Native workers benefit because they are able to specialize in more productive work.”

California’s immigrants move up the socioeconomic ladder over time—learning English, buying homes, and escaping poverty.
A study by demographer Dowell Myers of the University of Southern California found that:

The share of California’s foreign-born Latinos who reported being proficient in English as of 2000 rose from 33.4% of those who had been in the United States for less than 10 years to 73.5% among those who had been here for 30 years or longer.

The share of foreign-born Latinos in California who owned their own homes as of 2005 rose from 16.4% of those who had been in the United States for less than 10 years to 64.6% among those who had lived here for 30 years or more.

The share of California’s foreign-born Latinos who lived below the poverty line as of 2005 dropped from 28.7% of those who had been in the United States for less than 10 years to 11.8% among those who had been here for 30 years or more.

The share of immigrants in Los Angeles County who owned their own homes as of 2005-06 rose from 14.8% of those who had come to the United States within the previous 10 years to 63.4% of those who had lived here for more than 30 years—compared to a homeownership rate of 54.2% among the native-born, according to a study by Manuel Pastor and Rhonda Ortiz at the University of Southern California.