Immigrants and children of immigrants account for at least 15% of the 118th Congress, a share that has steadily grown over the past three Congresses. At least 81 voting members of Congress are foreign born or have at least one parent who was born in another country, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of members’ biographical information gathered from the Congressional Research Service, news articles, congressional offices and other sources. .
There are currently 18 foreign-born voting members of Congress, including 17 in the House of Representatives and one in the Senate – Democrat Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, who was born in Japan. Together, they represent 3% of all voting members across both legislative chambers. At least 63 additional lawyers – 47 representatives and 16 senators – have one or more immigrant parent. Overall, these children of immigrants make up 12% of the House and Senate.
Both the number and share of foreign-born members in the current Congress are the same as in the previous Congress. The share remains substantially below historical highs. For example, about 8% of lawmakers were immigrants in the 50th Congress of 1887-88, during a broader wave of immigration from Europe to the United States. The share of immigrants in the current Congress is also far below the foreign-born share of the U.S. population as a whole, which was 13.6% in 2021.
Children of immigrants, though, have increased their representation in Congress in recent years. Their share has increased from 10% (or 52 members) in the 115th Congress of 2017-18, when the Center began tracking this biographical information.
Write a Reply or Comment
You should Sign In or Sign Up account to post comment.