Explains California’s position as a leading immigrant destination in the United States and examines the three key populations affected by immigration: (1) naturalized adult immigrants, (2) legal immigrants eligible to naturalize, and (3) U.S.-citizen children of immigrants who are soon to become adults. The report finds that California has become home to the largest immigrant population in the United States and that population segment could increase by 10 percent through naturalization. Populations from Mexico and “Other Asia” locations present the groups with the greatest needs, with immigrant children over 12 years listed as half of the immigrant population. A large majority of alien children are themselves U.S. citizens who will reach voting age for the elections of 2008, 2010, and 2012, and are most likely to be sympathetic to policies that protect the rights of immigrants.
