Immigration has become one of the central issues for both parties during this election period. In recent weeks, Trump and Harris have talked about immigration, but their rhetoric doesn’t always reflect the beliefs of most voters.

A majority of American voters from both parties believe that undocumented immigrants accept jobs vacated by American citizens. Furthermore, while both candidates talk about borders and strengthening controls, polls show most voters believe in amnesty for undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as childrenthe group known as the Dreamers. This group, which was protected under the Obama administration under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, commonly known as DACA, is not mentioned on Harris’ campaign website.

Origin of American immigrants

The United States is a country of immigrantsand each year, as millions of people become naturalized, they become eligible to vote. Their opinions are often diverse, even within diaspora groups. Yet in the past, many newcomers chose to vote for the Democratic Party because leaders took a much more pro-immigration line and promised to reform the broken system. In 2020, CNN data found that voters identifying as Hispanic/Latino or Asian favored President Biden, the Democrat getting 65 and 63 percent votes from each of these groups, respectively.

The number of U.S. citizens born in another country continues to increase. The latest official figure is 46.1 million people. These numbers come from Pew Research, which found that among the countries with the most immigrants, the largest is Mexico, home to 23 percent (10.6 million) of U.S. immigrants. Next on the list are immigrants from Indiawith 2.6 million and 6 percent; Chinawhich is home to 2.5 million, or 5 percent of the immigrant population; and the Philippineswhich represents 4 percent of immigrants with 2 million people.

The data shows that Latin America, excluding Mexico but considering the Caribbean, Central America, and South America, has a percentage of immigrants to the United States of 27%.. Twenty-eight percent come from Asia, 12% from Europe, Canada and other North American countries, and 9% from Africa.

Furthermore, according to the same Bench study, 77 percent of immigrants live legally in the United States (49 percent of the population are naturalized U.S. citizens, 24 percent are legal permanent residents, and 4 percent are temporary residents). On the other hand, 23%, or some 11 million people, are undocumented immigrants.

Who can vote?

According to the United States government, those who can vote are:

Therefore, non-U.S. citizens, green card holders, convicted persons, individuals with specific mental disabilities, and U.S. citizens living in unincorporated territories like Puerto Rico will not be eligible to vote.

In total, it is estimated that approximately twenty-four million immigrants who have been naturalized U.S. citizens will vote in the 2024 elections. Based on the number of votes cast in 2020, this group of voters represents approximately sixteen percent of the electorate..