The number of foreign-born residents of the U.S. declined for the first time since at least 1970, as a recession and tight labor market dented America's image as the land of opportunity.
A decline in construction jobs lured fewer immigrants from their home countries, especially those from Mexico, according to the Census Bureau's annual American Community Survey.
In multiple ways -- falling homeownership, families moving in with others, couples putting off marriage -- the report illustrated that the recession has upended Americans' lives.
About 38 million foreign-born people lived in the U.S. in 2008, or 100,000 fewer than in the previous year, according to an analysis of Census data by William H. Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution think tank. The decline falls within the margin of error, but it still represents a significant turnaround. Between 2000 and 2006, the U.S. foreign-born population increased by about one million people a year; in 2007, the number dropped in half. READ FULL STORY
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