Statistics from the Department of Homeland Security show that newly arrived Mexican immigrants are sponsoring six family members on average, according to a study of DHS statistics by the Center for Immigration Studies.
This is twice the number of the average legal immigrant, who sponsors three additional immigrants.
Over the last 35 years, chain migration — those who join family members who arrived earlier — has exceeded new immigration, according to Jessica Vaughan, the Center for Immigration Studies' director of policy studies.
Of the countries that send immigrants, Mexico has the most chain migration, with each new immigrant sponsoring 6.38 additional legal immigrants, Vaughan reported in her findings.
Out of 33 million immigrants admitted from 1981 to 2016, about 20 million were from chain migration, according to Vaughan's analysis.
Administrative data reports that 1,125,000 legal immigrants were approved to be admitted to the U.S. in 2016, about 7 percent more than in 2015, Vaughan's analysis reported.
Spouses and parents of naturalized U.S. citizens are the largest categories of chain migration, because admissions in those areas are unlimited, Vaughan reported.
Chain migration of family members is not included in an immigration proposal from Sen. James Lankford, R-Ohio.
"We outline that there's no special privileges that come to any family member during this 15-year time period that they go through," Lankford said, referring to the Succeed Act proposal which makes a five-year waiver possible, then requires check-ins for the next 10 years before those in the program are eligible for full citizenship.
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