Census Bureau: U.S. Foreign-born Population Stagnated or Declined in 2025-26
According to surveys conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, the United States’ foreign-born population stagnated or even declined — depending on the specific surveys — in 2025 and 2026, a stark reversal of prior trends and an indication of the impact of President Donald Trump’s immigration policies.
Latest Data
On October 29, the Census Bureau released its latest data for its American Community Survey (ACS). According to Steven A. Camarota of the Center for Immigration Studies, the ACS data show “a big slowdown in growth of the foreign-born population through mid-2025, with an increase of just 174,000 from mid-2024 to mid-2025, compared to growth of 2.4 million from 2023 to 2024.”
Camarota also noted that two other Census Bureau surveys — the Current Population Survey’s Annual Social and Economic Supplement (CPS ASEC) and the monthly Current Population Survey (CPS) — showed noticeable declines in the foreign-born population in 2026. He wrote:
Data from the 2026 CPS ASEC, which has already been released and reflects the population in March 2026, shows a decline of about 790,000 in the foreign-born population from March 2025 to March 2026. The monthly CPS from the summer shows a decline of about 590,000 in 2026 compared to 2025.
According to Camarota, “It is almost certain that changes at the end of the Biden administration and then in the first few months of the Trump administration fundamentally altered prior trends, in particular reducing the arrival of new illegal immigrants.”
The New American previously reported that the United States experienced negative net migration in 2025 — the first time in more than 50 years — according to a Brookings Institution study. Meanwhile, illegal border crossings have fallen to the lowest level since fiscal 1967, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data.
Still a Long Way to Go
The Trump administration has taken a wide range of actions on migration, including restricting asylum, increasing immigration arrests, limiting refugee admissions, limiting the H-1B visa program, and restricting visas for foreigners. Just within the last month, the Department of Justice’s Board of Immigration Appeals took actions to further restrict asylum, and the Department of Homeland Security proposed a rule to more easily revoke refugees’ legal status and further limit the H-1B visa program.
Although Trump’s immigration policies appear to be having their intended effect, his administration still has a long way to go before truly ending mass migration — and unless Congress codifies his policies, a future administration could easily reverse them. Our leaders, including in Congress and state legislatures, must press on and further protect American sovereignty by limiting mass migration.
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