What Jobs Are New Immigrants Taking? Occupations of Employment-Based Legal Permanent Residents Admitted between 2000 and 2004

Kelly J Jefferys, U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
John F Simanski, U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

Increasing numbers of immigrants in recent years have raised concerns among policy makers and the American public about the supply and demand of native versus foreign labor. This analysis will shed new light on the specific occupations of immigrants by utilizing data on the legal permanent resident population obtained from DHS administrative records. The data presented in this paper are maintained in the Computer Linked Application Information Management System (CLAIMS) of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). This paper will examine demographic characteristics including sex, age, marital status, and country of birth. Analysis will also include tables and maps illustrating trends in the occupation of LPRs between 2000 and 2004 based on the categories of occupation used by the U.S. Census Bureau, the breakdown of occupations by employment preferences, and distribution of occupations by country of birth.