US society struggles with demographic change as immigration multiplies

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
30 Mar 2023 13:12

While the nation is slowly expanding, many localities are having trouble maintaining population levels.

Homes sit on a hilltop with a view of the downtown Los Angeles skyline Thursday, June 10, 2021, in Los Angeles. (AP)

In the 20 most populous counties in the country, immigration nearly tripled between 2021 and 2022 as national immigration levels returned to pre-pandemic levels, according to a report released on Thursday by the Census Bureau.

Nonetheless, many of these counties continue to lose population to the suburbs, exurbs, and other parts of the country, and they, like the rest of the country, are suffering from a low birthrate.

The most recent data from counties around the nation showed such tendencies, which showed that while the nation is slowly expanding, many localities are having trouble maintaining population levels.

There was population loss in the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens in New York, Cook County, including Chicago, Illinois, and Los Angeles County in California

The pandemic continued to have an effect; an exceptionally high percentage of counties recorded more deaths than births. The data, which include deaths from late 2021 and early 2022, when the pandemic was at one of its devastating peaks, cover the 12 months ending on June 30, 2022.

Here are some of the main findings from the new data:

The influx of immigrants stabilized the population figures

Between July 2021 and July 2022, the 20 largest counties in the country added more than 300,000 additional residents as a result of international migration, which mostly comprises immigrants but also includes anyone who relocated to the US from abroad.

Immigration stabilized the population figures for several of these counties, such as San Diego, Miami-Dade, and King County in Washington, which includes Seattle.

Other states saw a slight slowing in the declines.

Many newcomers were lured to large cities with established immigrant communities and more lenient immigration policies.

In the past, immigration has been essential to the prosperity of the nation's major cities, which have historically seen a yearly exodus of residents.

What's prospering?

Outer-ring suburbs, resort towns, and retirement communities continued to draw many Americans who relocated.

Jaap Vos, professor of planning and natural resources at the University of Idaho, said many exurban and vacation counties are experiencing economic and cultural change as a result of their expanding populations.

After the Pandemic

The statistics made public on Thursday covered the winter of late 2021 and early 2022, one of the grimmest and deadliest times of the pandemic.

Demographer Kenneth Johnson of the University of New Hampshire said more deaths than births occurred in three-quarters of the country's counties overall last year, which is "a rarity". Just 45% of counties in 2018 had more deaths than births.

Johnson added that the new data is not sufficiently up to date to show how the country's population and migratory patterns have changed in the wake of the pandemic.

Yet, the statistics indicate to immigration is a major factor in future growth because the nation was already aging and had low reproduction rates before the appearance of Covid-19. This contradicts the recent crackdown on immigrants rather than integrating immigrants into the labor market, the housing market, and the educational system.