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Immigrants are now 13.6% of the population in Illinois; Immigrants and their children are 26% of the population. The immigrant population of Illinois grows by 35,300 people a year. There are 1.5 million U.S. born children of immigrants in Illinois; 870,000 of them are voting age. The number of immigrant naturalized citizens in Illinois jumped from 597,911 in 2000 to 736,161 in 2005, a 23% increase in just 5 years. The number of suburban naturalized citizens jumped 38% in just the last 5 years, and now totals 460,000. There are now 1,605,844 voting age naturalized citizens and U.S. born children of immigrants in Illinois, 19% of the entire citizen voting age population. Each year 18,000 U.S. born children of immigrants become eligible to vote. The immigrant population of 984,000 in the suburbs now dwarfs the Chicago immigrant population of 590,000. Illinois is now home to almost 700,000 Mexican immigrants; the next greatest populations of immigrants are Polish, Indian, Filipino, and Chinese. The Indian population of Illinois increased 24% in just 5 years; the Filipino community increased 19%; and the Chinese population increased 18%.
Information provided by the Illinois Coalition of Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR).
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