Hispanic immigration is one of the hot-button topics hounding headlines in the past couple of months. However, in the wake of a recent study's findings, perhaps Asians will have their turn as headline makers in the next couple of years.
"By 2065, Hispanics are expected to make up 31% of immigrants," CNN reported. "Asians, on the other hand, will outnumber Hispanics and make up 38% of immigrants."
Mark Lopez, the head of Hispanic research at the Pew Research Center, supervised the study, titled "Modern Immigration Wave Brings 59 Million to U.S., Driving Population Growth and Change Through 2065," which was released on Monday.
"There are relatively fewer people who would choose to migrate from Mexico, so demographic changes in Mexico have led to a somewhat smaller pool of potential migrants," Lopez explained, as noted by The Washington Post. "At the same time, we've seen a growing number of immigrants - particularly from China or India - who are coming for reasons such as pursuing a college degree or coming here to work temporarily in the high-tech sector."
"Hispanic population growth is coming from people born here in the United States," he revealed further. "It is really U.S. births that are now the driver of Hispanic population growth, and that's a recent change from what we saw in the '80s and '90s."
The study estimated that, by 2065, no ethnic or racial group will form the majority of the population of the United States, as whites will reportedly dwindle to 46%.
"Currently, the country is 62 percent white, 18 percent Hispanic, 12 percent black and 6 percent Asian," the publication also said.
"One need only look at the past five years to see how this trend is taking form," CNN noted. "Of immigrants who've been in the United States for no more than five years, more have come from Asia (2.5 million) than from Central and South America (1.7 million)."
The study also examined the American public's opinion of the current immigration situation.
"Pew found that 45% say immigrants are making society better, while 37% say they're making it worse," CNN said. "Half of Americans would like to see a reduction in immigration, while eight in 10 people want to see the immigration system changed or completely overhauled."
Notably, Americans view immigrants from Europe (44%) and Asia (47%) more positively than those from other regions.
"Immigrants from Africa and Latin America are viewed positively by only 26% of those surveyed and are seen negatively by 22% and 37% respectively," CNN added.
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