America’s Hispanic population has nearly doubled since 2000, propelled by the Biden-era border crisis when the former president turned a blind eye to hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants crossing into the country.
According to new U.S. Census data, the 2023-2024 border breach by some 2 million migrants was the largest surge ever into the United States.
As a result, Hispanics now represent 20% of the U.S. population at 68 million, according to an analysis of the Census numbers by the Pew Research Center.
“The U.S. Hispanic population reached 68 million in 2024, almost doubling in size since 2000. Hispanics made up 20% of people in the U.S. in 2024, up from 13% in 2000 and just 5% in 1970,” said the Pew report.
“The nation’s population grew by 58.7 million people from 2000 to 2024, and Hispanics accounted for 56% of this increase — a greater share than any other racial or ethnic group,” it added.
And of the 68 million, Pew said that 41% are in the country illegally.
“When it comes to Hispanic immigrants, Pew Research Center estimates that 59% are lawful immigrants while 41% are unauthorized immigrants, based on data from 2023. This is larger than the share of all U.S. immigrants who are unauthorized (27%). Looked at another way, Latino unauthorized immigrants represented 14% of all U.S. Latinos in 2023. This is larger than unauthorized immigrants’ share (4%) of the U.S. population,” said the new analysis.
The report highlighted the changes brought by former President Joe Biden’s open border policies. “From 2021 to 2024, both legal and illegal immigration rose sharply, with more than a million immigrants from Latin America arriving annually,” it said, adding that the numbers should show a dramatic decrease since President Donald Trump returned to the Oval Office and changed border policies.
Pew has long studied America’s Hispanic population. Its new report into Latino demographics is an update of one done over 10 years ago.
The growing population of Latinos has had a massive impact on the country, both culturally and economically. And Pew’s report indicates it will continue.
SEE THE LATEST POLITICAL NEWS AND BUZZ FROM WASHINGTON SECRETS
One reason is because the Hispanic population is younger than the native American population.
“Hispanic births aren’t just a major driver of Hispanic population growth. They’re also a major driver of overall U.S. population growth. In 2024, 32% of infants born in the U.S. had a Hispanic mother or father, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data — significantly larger than the share of Americans who are Hispanic (20%),” Pew said.