A Snapshot of Children on the California Border

This snapshot of children on the California border examines the well-being of children along the U.S.-Mexico border, comparing California, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. It indicates more than one-quarter of all California residents are foreign born (26%), compared to 8% of residents in non-border states. In Texas, the percentage of the population that is foreign born is more than twice as high along the border as in the rest of the state (28% versus 12%). In California, the percentage of foreign born is actually higher in the rest of the state (27%) than it is along the border (22%). California has both a land border and an ocean border. Many of California's immigrants come from overseas. Less than half of the foreign-born population in California was born in Mexico (44%), compared to 72% in New Mexico, 66% in Arizona, and 65% in Texas. (Contains 4 endnotes.) [This KIDS COUNT Snapshot was produced for the Annie E. Casey Foundation by Children Now.]