Immigration Data and Statistics

Since the passage of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, the Office of Immigration Statistics has responsibility to carry out two statutory requirements: 1) to collect and disseminate to Congress and the public data and information useful in evaluating the social, economic, environmental, and demographic impact of immigration laws; and 2) to establish standards of reliability and validity for immigration statistics collected by the Department’s operational Components.

The following are key datasets and resources published by the Office of Immigration Statistics.

New Releases

Reports

The following are key datasets and resources published by the Office of Immigration Statistics.

Yearbook of Immigration Statistics

The Yearbook of Immigration Statistics is a compendium of tables that provides data on foreign nationals who were granted lawful permanent residence, were admitted into the United States on a temporary basis, applied for asylum or refugee status, or were naturalized.
Lawful Permanent Residents

Lawful permanent residents (LPRs), also known as “green card” holders, are non-citizens who are lawfully authorized to live permanently within the United States.
Refugees & Asylees

A refugee is a person outside his or her country of nationality who is unable or unwilling to return to his or her country of nationality because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution. An asylee is a person who meets the definition of refugee and is already present in the United States or is seeking admission at a port of entry.
U.S. Naturalizations

Naturalization confers U.S. citizenship upon foreign nationals who have fulfilled the requirements Congress established in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).
U.S. Nonimmigrant Admissions

Nonimmigrants are foreign nationals granted temporary admission into the United States.
Immigration Enforcement Actions

DHS engages in immigration enforcement actions to prevent unlawful entry into the United States and to apprehend and repatriate aliens who have violated or failed to comply with U.S. immigration laws.
Population Estimates

Population estimates for unauthorized immigrants, nonimmigrant residents, and lawful permanent residents.
Immigration Statistics Infographics

Infographics produced by the Office of Immigration Statistics to make data provide by Department of Homeland Security components more readily available to the public.
Fact Sheets

Fact sheets on widely varying topics ranging from characteristics of those apprehended at the border in a given time period to reports on immigrants’ interstate migration between the acquisition of lawful permanent resident (LPR) status and citizenship.
Border Security

Protecting the nation’s borders—land, air, and sea—from the illegal entry of people, weapons, drugs, and contraband is vital to our homeland security, as well as economic prosperity. DHS has deployed unprecedented levels of personnel, technology, and resources and has made critical security improvements to secure and manage our borders. The following are reports related to Border Security.
Special Reports

The Office of Immigration Statistics (OIS) prepares special reports in response to Presidential, Secretarial, and congressional directives.
Reading Room

The Office of Immigration Statistics provides regularly released data and customized tabulations in response to a public request when there is a significant value for that information. Tabulations are organized by topic and an explanation of what the files contain.
Research Library

White papers and special projects related to immigration which may expand upon concepts in core reporting or topics of special interest to stakeholders.
Office of Immigration Statistics

Mission and contact information for the Office of Immigration Statistics.