The U.S. has absorbed 1 million Venezuelans over the past decade. That's much more recent than most immigrants | Fortune
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The U.S. has absorbed 1 million Venezuelans over the past decade. That's much more recent than most immigrants | Fortune
"In 2024, the most recent year for which we have data, an estimated 1 million immigrants from Venezuela lived in the United States. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey, these Venezuelans constitute about 2% of the total immigrant population. We are demographers - social scientists who specialize in understanding the changing U.S. population, including changes due to immigration."
"Notably, Venezuelan immigrants have lived in the United States for barely 10 years on average, considerably less than the nearly 23-year average for the total immigrant population. More than half of Venezuelan immigrants report arriving in the U.S. in the past five years, coinciding with the highly disputed 2018 Venezuelan election in which Nicolas Maduro retained power. Data from the Office of Homeland Security Statistics illuminates this difference, pointing to recent dramatic growth in the Venezuelan population in the U.S."
"Annual counts of Venezuelans obtaining legal permanent residence permits, commonly called green cards, have more than doubled since 2018. Moreover, the number of green cards going to Venezuelans has increased 600% since 1999, when Venezuela's previous autocratic leader, Hugo Chavez, took power. A large number of Venezuelans living in the U.S. arrived within the past five years under temporary protected status. In 2021, just 21,000 Venezuelans were in the U.S. with this status."
An estimated 1 million Venezuelan immigrants lived in the United States in 2024, representing about 2% of the total immigrant population. Venezuelan immigrants have an average U.S. residence of roughly 10 years, far shorter than the overall immigrant average of nearly 23 years. More than half report arriving within the past five years, coinciding with political turmoil after the 2018 election. Annual green-card grants to Venezuelans have more than doubled since 2018 and risen about 600% since 1999. Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelans expanded from about 21,000 in 2021 to over 600,000 by the end of 2025, with over 200,000 in Florida. Refugee and asylum grants also spiked, with over 5,000 in 2023.
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