For the past two years, more immigrants came to California from China than from Mexico, reports the Sacramento Bee, citing the U.S. Census Bureau and the Public Policy Institute of California. Some 33,000 immigrants moved from China to California in 2014, about three times the number that came in 2005, according to the Bee.
The number of Mexicans who moved to California, however, has declined by 70 percent in the same period. Just a little more than 30,000 Mexicans moved to California last year compared to 100,000 in 2005.
Experts attributed the decline to the economic recession between 2007 and 2009, increased border enforcement, more deportations, falling Mexican fertility rates, and less jobs available in California that are traditionally held by Mexicans, such as construction and service-sector employment.
It was the second year in a row that more immigrants came to California from China than from Mexico. The Bee also noted that India is on pace to surpass Mexico, as it sent about 29,500 immigrants to the Golden State last year, noted Sputnik.
Much of the Asian influx can be explained by an increased demand for highly skilled tech workers, many of whom are enticed to settle in Silicon Valley by Congress' H-1B visa program, which hands out 85,000 visas to high-tech workers each year, reports Breitbart.
China also sends large numbers of students to California to attend college. The number of foreign freshman enrolling at the University of California increased nearly sixfold between 2009 and 2015, from 1,048 to 6,071, while the number attending UC Davis rose by more than tenfold, from 91 in 2009 to 1,073 in 2015, and the number attending Stanford's undergraduate increased by more than 40 percent between 2005 and 2014, according to the Bee. Foreign students often pay more to attend California schools. For example, at UC Davis, foreign students pay $39,000 in tuition and fees per year, while native Californian students only pay $14,000.
Despite the new trend, Hispanics are expected to outnumber Asians for the foreseeable future. There are about 15 million Hispanics in California, compared to some 5.3 million Asians.
