Data
Links to Accurate Information about Immigrants and Refugees
Citizenship/Naturalization
- State of New American Citizenship Repot (2021) (2021) Boundless
- Updated Naturalization Statistics (2021) National Partnership for New Americans
- Naturalized Citizens in the United States (2021) Migration Policy Institute
- Naturalize Now, Vote Tomorrow (2020) National Partnership for New Americans
- Eligible to Naturalize Interactive Map University of Southern California Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration
- Eligible to Naturalize Population Map and Charts New Americans Campaign
- The Power of Newly Naturalized Citizens in the 2020 Elections: New American Voters 2020 National Partnership for New Americans
- Naturalize Now, Vote Tomorrow (2020) National Partnership for New Americans
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)
- Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Data Tools (2021) Migration Policy Institute
- Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA): By the Numbers (2021) Congressional Research Service
- Americans broadly support legal status for immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children (2020) Pew Research Center
- What We Know About DACA Recipients, by Metropolitan Area (2020) Center for American Progress
- DACA Facts: The Case for Protecting Dreamers (2020) fwd.us
- USCIS Immigration and Citizenship Data filtered by DACA (2020) U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
Temporary Protected Status (TPS)
- Fact Sheet: Temporary Protected Status (TPS) (2021) National Immigration Forum
- A Demographic Profile of TPS Holders Providing Essential Services During the Coronavirus Crisis (2020) Center for American Progress
- Temporary Protected Status: Overview and Current Issues (2020) Congressional Research Service
- Workers with Temporary Protected Status in Key Industries and States (2019) American Immigration Council
Immigrants and Racial Equity
- One-in-Ten Black People Living in the U.S. Are Immigrants (2022) Pew Research Center
- Latinos See U.S. as Better Than Place of Family's Ancestry for Opportunity, Raising Kids, Health Care Access (2022) Pew Research Center
- Immigration Restrictions and Racial Discrimination Share Similar Roots (2020) Cato Institute
Immigrants and the COVID-19 Pandemic
- An Early Readout on the Economic Effects of the COVID-19 Crisis: Immigrant Women Have the Highest Unemployment (2020) Migration Policy Institute
- On the COVID-19 Frontlines: Black Immigrants in Healthcare and Other Essential Industries (2020) New American Economy
- COVID-19 and Unemployment: Assessing the Early Fallout for Immigrants and Other U.S. Workers (2020) Migration Policy Institute
- The Impact of COVID-19 on Noncitizens and Across the U.S. Immigration System (2020) American Immigration Council
- Vulnerable to COVID-19 and in Frontline Jobs, Immigrants Are Mostly Shut Out of U.S. Relief (2020) (Migration Policy Institute)
- Immigration and Covid-19 (2020) New American Economy
- A Demographic Profile of TPS Holders Providing Essential Services During the Coronavirus Crisis (2020) Center for American Progress
- No, Mr. President, Immigration Is Not Correlated with COVID-19 in the United States (2020) Cato Institute
Immigrants and Crime
- Comparing crime rates between undocumented immigrants, legal immigrants, and native-born US citizens in Texas (2020) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
- Undocumented Immigrants Are Half as Likely to Be Arrested for Violent Crimes as U.S.-Born Citizens (2020) Scientific American
- Details of 155 Immigration Detainers for U.S. Citizens (2020) Cato Institute
- Do Deportations Lower Crime? Not According to the Data (2019) The Marshall Project
- Illegal Immigrants and Crime - Assessing the Evidence (2019) Cato Institute
- Is There a Connection Between Undocumented Immigrants and Crime (2019) The Marshall Project
- Sanctuary Jurisdictions in Florida Do Not Have Higher Crime Rates (2019) Cato Institute
- Is Illegal Immigration Linked to More or Less Crime? (2018) FactCheck.org
- Immigrants are less likely to commit crime than native-born citizens (2018) Cato Institute
- Immigration and Crime: Assessing a Contentious Issue (2018) Annual Review of Criminology
- The Effects of Sanctuary Policies on Crime and the Economy (2017) Center for American Progress
Immigrants and Use of Public Benefits
- Immigrants and Public Benefits: What Does the Research Say? (2018) Bipartisan Policy Institute
- Immigrants are less likely to use social benefits than native-born citizens (2018) Cato Institute
Immigrant Integration
- The Changing Concepts around Immigrant Integration (2021) Migration Policy Institute
- Cities Index, an interactive guide ranking 100 largest U.S. cities on immigrant integration metrics (2018) New American Economy
- Civic Engagement Data for Immigrants and Refugees Living in Seattle/King County (2018) Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs
- The Integration of Immigrants into American Society (2015) The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Immigrant Statistics
- These 5 Seattle-area neighborhoods changed the most this past Decade. Here's how (2021) The Seattle Times
- Seattle grew by more than 100,000 people in past 10 years, King County population booms, diversifies, new census data shows (2021) The Seattle Times
- Immigration Data Matters (2020) Migration Policy Institute
- Key findings about U.S. immigrants (2020) Pew Research Center
- Immigrants in Washington (2020) American Immigration Council
- New milestone in King County: Immigrant population tops 500,000 (2019) The Seattle Times
- Voices of Seattle's East African Communities: An Overview of Community Issues and Opportunities (2016) Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs
Unauthorized/Undocumented Immigrants
- Profile of the Unauthorized Population: United States (2021) Migration Policy Institute
- Pathways to Citizenship for Undocumented Immigrants (2021) fwd.us
*If you need more specific information on refugee placement in Washington State, we recommend going to the Office of Refugee and Immigrant Assistance Data page of the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services.
- Figures at a Glance (2021) UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
- Refugees and Asylees in the United States (2021) Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
- The Next Generation of Refugee Resettlement in Europe: Ambitions for the Future and How to Realize Them (2020) Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
- Using Evidence to Improve Refugee Resettlement: A Monitoring and Evaluation Road Map (2020) Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
- Civic Engagement Data for Immigrants and Refugees Living in Seattle/King County (2018) Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs
- Interactive map showing the global refugee crisis (2017) Mashable
- U.S. Annual Refugee Resettlement Ceilings and Numbers of Refugees Admitted, 1980-Present Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
- Where Seattle's refugees come from and other things you should know (2016) KUOW
- King County Refugee Population Map (2015) The Seattle Times
- Creating Quality Jobs for All in Washington's Tech Sector (2021) OneAmerica
- Immigrants in U.S. experienced higher unemployment in the pandemic but have closed the gap (2021) Pew Research Center
- Protecting Undocumented Workers on the Pandemic's Front Lines (state-level data on construction, food supply chain, care economy, and health care sectors) (2021) Center for American Progress
- Navigating the Future of Work: The Role of Immigrant-Origin Workers in the Changing U.S. Economy (2020) Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
- Protecting Undocumented Workers on the Pandemic's Front Lines (2020) Center for American Progress
- Foriegn-born Workers: Labor Force Characteristics (2020) Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Keep Washington Working Report (2020) Washington State Department of Commerce
- Recovery for Whom? Building a Future of Economic Stability, Quality Jobs & Equity (2020) OneAmerica
- Recover Better: A Regional Plan for Equitable Economic Recovery (2020) Workforce Development Council of Seattle - King County
- Applying a Racial Equity Lens to Digital Literacy: How workers of color are affected by digital skill gaps (2020) National Skills Coalition
- Immigrants Aid America During COVID-19 Crisis (2020) CATO Institute
- Immigration and Covid-19 (2020) New American Economy
- Breaking Barriers and Building Bridges: Career Pathways to Economic Stability & Quality Jobs for Seattle's Immigrant and Refugee Workers & Professionals (2017) Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs
- Costs of Brain Waste among Highly Skilled Immigrants in Washington State (2016) Migration Policy Institute
- Economic Benefits of Diversity and Inclusion and Costs of Discrimination and Isolationism Fact Sheet (2017) Office of Economic Development
- Economic Impact of Naturalization on Immigrants and Cities (2015) The Urban Institute
- Effects of Sanctuary Policies on Crime and the Economy (2017) Center for American Progress
- Map the Impact, an interactive guide highlighting the significant economic contributions of immigrants (2016) New American Economy
- Reducing Brain Waste: Creating Career Pathways for Foreign-Educated Immigrants in Washington State (2015) OneAmerica
Seattle City Council requested that OIRA conduct a study to explore the feasibility of establishing services in the city of Seattle for internationally-educated immigrants and refugees who are seeking professional occupations in the U.S. This 2017 report examines the state of the immigrant and refugee workforce and explores a range of issues including underemployment, the occupational and wage structure of the Seattle-King County workforce, and changing patterns of job mobility.
Breaking Barriers and Building Bridges (2017)
(To download the document, right-click, then select, "Save link as..." and then save to your computer.)
Through an analysis of existing data, community-centered focus groups, and a series of one-on-one interviews, the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs (OIRA) commissioned this report titled, "Voices of Seattle's East African Communities." Consultant Aileen Balahadia facilitated this community-driven process with these goals:
- To inform and guide OIRA and the City of Seattle in order to better analyze policy and to improve services and support to the city's diverse East African communities.
- To inform and guide community-based organizations (CBOs) serving East African individuals in their ability to more efficiently and effectively serve their communities, particularly in today's nonprofit climate.
- To educate and inform community, public, and private partners of the current issues and opportunities in East African communities.
The 2016 report serves as a common framework from which both the community and the City of Seattle can work towards collective action. The white paper will inform city departments as they develop unique workplans specific to East African community needs.
 The entire 78-page report. |
 The 8-page executive summary of the report. |
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(To download the documents, right-click, then select, "Save link as..." and then save to your computer.) |
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This 2015 data snapshot of Seattle's immigrant and refugee community lists a number of important statistics regarding the city's new arrivals and new Americans.
(To download the data sheet, right-click, then select, "Save link as..." and then save to your computer.)
The Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs (OIRA) worked with Latino Decisions in 2016 to develop and launch the Seattle Votes Survey campaign, which anonymously collected civic engagement data from 5,566 immigrant and refugee residents, the first such data for any city in the U.S. and one of the largest data sets in the country. The reports and links to data are below:
Report on the entire dataset:
Seattle Votes Survey Results: Immigrant Civic Engagement in Seattle-King County (2016)
Reports disaggregated by immigrant/refugee community subsets:
Seattle Votes Survey Results: Asian American Community
Seattle Votes Survey Results: East African Community
Seattle Votes Survey Results: Latino Community
NOTE: As of June 4, 2018, the Latino Community report is revised from the original version. Tania Hino's interview contained incorrect information in the original report.
Seattle Votes Slideshow Presentation:
OIRA Presentation Seattle Votes 2018 FINAL.pdf
(To download any of the above documents, right-click, then select, "Save link as..." and then save to your computer.)
Seattle Votes Survey raw data:
data.seattle.gov/Community/Seattle-Votes-Survey-Data-from-5-224-immigrant-and/y5cf-gy2p
Released in 2015, the City of Seattle Immigrant Voting Task Force Report examined the issues that affect civic and political participation by immigrant communities in the City of Seattle. The City is working to ensure that immigrant residents are part of our vibrant democracy and is using innovative and community-driven ideas to overcome challenges to civic participation. This inclusive approach is highlighted in the creative and practical recommendations developed by the Immigrant Voting Task Force. This report led to the Seattle Votes Campaign, see above.
(To download the document, right-click, then select, "Save link as..." and then save to your computer.)