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Immigration Facts

Immigration has become an issue of considerable concern to the residents of New Jersey and, certainly, of Monmouth County.  This is especially true in light of the 9/11 attacks, heightened terrorism around the world, and the increasing numbers of undocumented workers living in our communities.

In order to provide some basic information on the immigrant population in New Jersey and specifically Monmouth County, we provide the following facts:

25% of our state’s population speaks a language other than English at home. 

Nearly half of those who speak a language other than English at home, speak Spanish.

New Jersey has the third largest number of foreign-born people in its population  among all of the states.

17.3% of NJ’s total population is foreign-born according to the 2000 census.

In absolute numbers, NJ is sixth among all of the states in foreign born residents.

The five largest groups of foreign-born residents in NJ are: Asian-Indians, Dominicans, Filipinos, Koreans and Colombians.

According to latest estimates, there are 221,000 undocumented immigrants living in NJ, 3.2% of our total population.

Human trafficking in foreign born individuals is becoming an increasing problem.

Services for undocumented residents are best achieved through the public schools, where students are enrolled without regard to citizenship status.

After age 12, it is increasingly difficult to learn a new language.