Released: July 14, 2011 Changing Pattern of Mexican-American
Population Growth Births have overtaken immigration as the main
driver of population growth among Mexican-Americans, according
to a report released today by the Pew Hispanic Center that uses
U.S. and Mexican census data. The pattern from 2000-2010 was a
change from the previous two decades, when births to Mexican-
American mothers in the U.S. were matched or surpassed by the
number of new immigrant arrivals. The birth trend is largely
attributable to the surge of immigration from Mexico in recent
decades. The report uses data from the Current Population Survey
taken by the Census Bureau, as well as Mexican government data
on migration of Mexicans in and out of that country. Immigration
to the U.S. from Mexico ebbed in the 2000s compared with the
1990s.