by Steven A. Camarota*

The argument is often made that immigrants have a stronger commitment to traditional family values than do native-born Americans. However, birth records show that about one-third of births to both groups are now to unmarried parents. Moreover, unmarried immigrants are significantly more likely than unmarried natives to give birth. Illegitimacy may be especially problematic for children of immigrants because they need strong families to adjust to life in America.

• Both immigrants and natives have seen a dramatic increase in out-of-wedlock births, from 13 percent in 1980 for immigrants (legal and illegal) to 32 percent in 2003 and from 19 percent to 35 percent for natives over the same period.
   

• This modest difference disappears when teenagers, who have the highest illegitimacy levels, are excluded. There are relatively few immigrant teenagers because immigrants tend to arrive when they are older. Without teenagers, the rate is about 30 percent for both immigrants and natives.
   

• Hispanic immigrants have seen the largest increase in out-of-wedlock births — from 19 percent of births in 1980 to 42 percent in 2003. This is important because Hispanics account for nearly 60 percent of all births to immigrants.
   

• In addition to the 42 percent rate for Hispanic immigrants, the illegitimacy rate is now 39 percent for black immigrants, 11 percent for Asian/Pacific Islanders, and 12 percent for white immigrants.
   

• There’s no indication of improvement over the generations. Among natives, the illegitimacy rate is 50 percent for Hispanics; 30 percent for Asian/Pacific Islanders, and 24 percent for whites.
   

• 2003 is the first time that the absolute number of illegitimate births to Hispanics (immigrant and native) outnumbered illegitimate births to blacks (immigrant and native).
   

• The illegitimate children of immigrants also often have to overcome their parents’ low education levels. In 2003, 56 percent of illegitimate births to immigrants were to mothers without a high school diploma; for natives the rate was 33 percent. It was 65 percent for Hispanic immigrants.
   

• Out-of-wedlock births are highest for those with the least education; among immigrant mothers who lack a high school diploma, 45 percent of births are illegitimate.
   

• Illegitimacy also can be measured by the share of unmarried women who give birth. One out of every 12 unmarried immigrant women had a baby in 2003; for natives it was one out of 25. For Hispanic immigrants it was one in seven.
   

• The country is currently debating whether to legalize illegal aliens or alternatively, to enforce the law and cause them to go home. Since 60 percent of illegals lack a high school diploma and 80 percent are Hispanic, legalization could contribute to the illegitimacy problem by allowing illegals to remain in the United States.
   

• There is no evidence that illegitimacy is related to legal status. Illegitimacy is common in many immigrant-sending counties. According to the UN, in Mexico and Canada the illegitimacy rate is 38 percent; in El Salvador it’s 73 percent; and it’s 86 percent in Jamaica.
   

• The high rate of illegitimacy for Hispanic immigrants also seems unrelated to legal status, because only one-fifth of non-Mexican Hispanic immigrants are illegal aliens, yet their illegitimacy rate is 45 percent. This compares to 41 percent for Mexican immigrants, fully half of whom are illegal.
   

• The high levels of out-of-wedlock births among native-born Hispanics also suggest that cultural factors play a significant role in explaining high illegitimacy in that group.
   

• Another reason to think illegitimacy is more related to culture than legal status is that college-educated Hispanic immigrants, only a small share of whom are illegal, still have triple the rate of illegitimacy as college educated natives.
   

• Birth records used in this study count all births, unlike Census Bureau data that are likely to miss some poor and less-educated immigrants, who have the highest illegitimacy. Thus Census Bureau data tend to understate family problems among immigrants. Also they do not report illegitimacy.
   

• Looking at family structure with Census Bureau data shows that 75 percent of the U.S.-born children of immigrants live in households headed by a married person, compared to 70 percent for natives. It’s 70 percent for Hispanic immigrants and 79 percent for white natives.
   

• Among teenagers, who are at the greatest risk for getting into trouble, there is less difference — 70 percent of U.S.-born teenagers with immigrant parents live in unmarried households, compared to 68 percent for those with native parents.
   

• Like the birth records, the Census Bureau data show that neither immigrants nor natives can be said to be exemplary when it comes to marriage and children.
   

• A large body of research shows that children born to unmarried parents are at risk for a host of social problems, including high rates of poverty and incarceration, low academic achievement, and becoming unmarried parents themselves.
   

• The high level of illegitimacy among natives, particularly African Americans, has been a concern for several decades. The rise in out-of-wedlock births among immigrants, especially Hispanics, is a newer phenomenon, which could have significant implications for the integration and social mobility of these children.
   

• Our efforts to strengthen families must now take into account the impact of immigration on this growing national problem.

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*Center for Immigration Studies
May 2007
http://www.cis.org/articles/2007/back507.html
Cross-posted with permission