From left, Rep. Maxwell Frost, Rep. Becca Balint, Sen. Mazie Hirono, Sen. Marco Rubio, and Rep. Andrea Salinas. (Anna Moneymaker; Bonnie Jo Mount/The Washington Post; Brandon Bell; Octavio Jones; Anna Moneymaker, all via Getty Images)

Immigrants and children of immigrants account for at least 15% of the 118th Congress, a share that has steadily grown over the past three Congresses. At least 81 voting members of Congress are foreign born or have at least one parent who was born in another country, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of members’ biographical information gathered from the Congressional Research Service, news articles, congressional offices and other sources.

There are currently 18 foreign-born voting members of Congress, including 17 in the House of Representatives and one in the Senate – Democrat Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, who was born in Japan. Together, they represent 3% of all voting members across both legislative chambers. At least 63 additional lawmakers – 47 representatives and 16 senators – have one or more immigrant parent. Overall, these children of immigrants make up 12% of the House and Senate.

How we did this

This Pew Research Center analysis examines congressional lawmakers’ birthplaces and parentage. It is based on information from congressional and genealogical records, news stories, obituaries, candidate statements and contact with congressional staff. Our count does not include members of Congress who were born outside the U.S. to American parents and gained U.S. citizenship after meeting legal requirements. Our tally also does not include members who were born (or whose parents were born) in U.S. territories such as Puerto Rico, nor on U.S. military bases outside of the country.

Our analysis reflects the 535 voting members of the 118th Congress seated as of Feb. 28, 2023.

If you know of an additional congressional legislator not included on our list, email info@pewresearch.org.

A chart showing that the Foreign-born share of the U.S. Congress at 3% remains below historical highs

Both the number and share of foreign-born members in the current Congress are the same as in the previous Congress. The share remains substantially below historical highs. For example, about 8% of lawmakers were immigrants in the 50th Congress of 1887-88, during a broader wave of immigration from Europe to the United States. The share of immigrants in the current Congress is also far below the foreign-born share of the U.S. population as a whole, which was 13.6% in 2021.

Children of immigrants, though, have increased their representation in Congress in recent years. Their share has increased from 10% (or 52 members) in the 115th Congress of 2017-18, when the Center began tracking this biographical information.  

Looking at all 81 immigrants and children of immigrants in the current Congress, Democrats make up a much larger portion of the group than Republicans. Among the 17 senators who are foreign born or have an immigrant parent, 12 are Democrats, four are Republicans (Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida, Jim Risch of Idaho, John Thune of South Dakota and Ted Cruz of Texas) and one is an independent – Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, whose father emigrated from Poland.

A bar chart showing that Nearly half of all immigrants and children of immigrants in the 118th Congress represent Western states

In the House, 48 of the 64 lawmakers who are immigrants or children of immigrants are Democrats, while 16 are Republicans. The latter group includes New York Republican Rep. George Santos, who is the son of Brazilian immigrants. However, key aspects of Santos’ biography have been called into question.

Immigrants and children of immigrants represent 25 states in Congress. About a quarter of these members (26%) represent California – the largest share representing any one state. Smaller shares represent Florida (9%), Illinois (7%) and New York (6%).

There are also regional trends. Almost half of members who are immigrants or children of immigrants (48%) hail from states in the West – 39 members in all. The South ranks as the second-most common region represented by this group, with 17 lawmakers, followed by the Northeast (13) and the Midwest (12).

A bar chart showing that Most immigrants or children of immigrants in Congress trace roots to Central America, Europe or Asia

In a change from previous Congresses, Central America has surpassed Europe as the most common origin region for lawmakers who are immigrants or the children of immigrants. Three-in-ten members in this group claim heritage in Central American countries. About a quarter or fewer have roots in Europe (26%), Asia (17%) and the Caribbean (16%).

Twenty-two lawmakers who are immigrants or have at least one immigrant parent have roots in Mexico, by far the largest number from any one country. The next most common countries of origin are Cuba with nine lawmakers, Germany with six and India with five. (Some lawmakers in this analysis are tallied under more than one country and region because their parents emigrated to the U.S. from different nations.)

A world map showing the birthplace or parentage of immigrants and children of immigrants in the 118th Congress; Mexican heritage is most common

Of the new members of Congress this year, Democratic Rep. Becca Balint, whose Hungarian father survived the Holocaust, is the first woman and openly gay person to represent Vermont in Congress. And Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia of California, who emigrated from Peru at age 5, is the first openly gay immigrant to serve in Congress.

Under the U.S. Constitution, an immigrant taking office in the House must be a U.S. citizen for seven years or more, be age 25 or older and live in the state where they are elected. Nine years of citizenship are required to serve in the Senate, and the member must be 30 or older and live in the represented state when elected.

If you know of an additional congressional legislator not included on our list, email info@pewresearch.org.

Immigrants, children of immigrants in the 118th U.S. Congress

Name Immigrant or child of an immigrant Place of origin Party Office State
Balint, Becca Child Father: Hungary Democrat Representative VT
Barragán, Nanette Child Both parents: Mexico Democrat Representative CA
Bennet, Michael Child Mother: Poland Democrat Senator CO
Bera, Ami Child Both parents: India Democrat Representative CA
Bice, Stephanie Child Father: Iran Republican Representative OK
Blumenthal, Richard Child Father: Germany Democrat Senator CT
Boyle, Brendan Child Father: Ireland Democrat Representative PA
Burgess, Michael Child Father: Canada Republican Representative TX
Caraveo, Yadira Child Both parents: Mexico Democrat Representative CO
Carbajal, Salud Immigrant Mexico Democrat Representative CA
Cárdenas, Tony Child Both parents: Mexico Democrat Representative CA
Casar, Greg Child Both parents: Mexico Democrat Representative TX
Cherfilus-McCormick, Sheila Child Both parents: Haiti Democrat Representative FL
Chu, Judy Child Mother: China Democrat Representative CA
Ciscomani, Juan Immigrant Mexico Republican Representative AZ
Clarke, Yvette Child Both parents: Jamaica Democrat Representative NY
Correa, Lou Child Both parents: Mexico Democrat Representative CA
Cruz, Ted Child Father: Cuba Republican Senator TX
Cuellar, Henry Child Father: Mexico Democrat Representative TX
DeLauro, Rosa Child Father: Italy Democrat Representative CT
Diaz-Balart, Mario Child Both parents: Cuba Republican Representative FL
Duckworth, Tammy Child Mother: Thailand Democrat Senator IL
Durbin, Dick Child Mother: Lithuania Democrat Senator IL
Eshoo, Anna Child Mother: Armenia; Father: Iran Democrat Representative CA
Espaillat, Adriano Immigrant Dominican Republic Democrat Representative NY
Frost, Maxwell Alejandro Child Mother: Cuba Democrat Representative FL
Gallego, Ruben Child Mother: Colombia; Father: Mexico Democrat Representative AZ
García, Jesús Immigrant Mexico Democrat Representative IL
Garcia, Mike Child Both parents: Mexico Republican Representative CA
Garcia, Robert Immigrant Peru Democrat Representative CA
Gimenez, Carlos Immigrant Cuba Republican Representative FL
Gomez, Jimmy Child Both parents: Mexico Democrat Representative CA
Grijalva, Raúl Child Father: Mexico Democrat Representative AZ
Harris, Andy Child Mother: Ukraine; Father: Hungary Republican Representative MD
Heinrich, Martin Child Father: Germany Democrat Senator NM
Hirono, Mazie Immigrant Japan Democrat Senator HI
Horsford, Steven Child Mother: Trinidad Democrat Representative NV
Houlahan, Chrissy Child Father: Poland Democrat Representative PA
Hoyer, Steny Child Father: Denmark Democrat Representative MD
Jayapal, Pramila Immigrant India Democrat Representative WA
Khanna, Ro Child Both parents: India Democrat Representative CA
Kilmer, Derek Child Mother: Germany Democrat Representative WA
Kim, Andy Child Both parents: South Korea Democrat Representative NJ
Kim, Young Immigrant South Korea Republican Representative CA
Krishnamoorthi, Raja Immigrant India Democrat Representative IL
Lieu, Ted Immigrant Taiwan Democrat Representative CA
Luna, Anna Paulina Child Father: Mexico Republican Representative FL
Malliotakis, Nicole Child Mother: Cuba; Father: Greece Republican Representative NY
Menendez, Robert Child Both parents: Cuba Democrat Senator NJ
Meng, Grace Child Both parents: Taiwan Democrat Representative NY
Mooney, Alexander Child Mother: Cuba Republican Representative WV
Napolitano, Grace Child Mother: Mexico Democrat Representative CA
Neguse, Joe Child Both parents: Eritrea Democrat Representative CO
Omar, Ilhan Immigrant Somalia Democrat Representative MN
Ossoff, Jon Child Mother: Australia Democrat Senator GA
Padilla, Alex Child Both parents: Mexico Democrat Senator CA
Pérez, Marie Gluesenkamp Child Father: Mexico Democrat Representative WA
Peters, Gary Child Mother: France Democrat Senator MI
Ramirez, Delia Child Both parents: Guatemala Democrat Representative IL
Risch, James Child Father: Germany Republican Senator ID
Rubio, Marco Child Both parents: Cuba Republican Senator FL
Ruiz, Raul Immigrant Mexico Democrat Representative CA
Salazar, Maria Elvira Child Both parents: Cuba Republican Representative FL
Salinas, Andrea Child Father: Mexico Democrat Representative OR
Sánchez, Linda Child Both parents: Mexico Democrat Representative CA
Sanders, Bernie Child Father: Poland Independent Senator VT
Santos, George Child Both parents: Brazil Republican Representative NY
Sarbanes, John Child Mother: UK Democrat Representative MD
Schakowsky, Janice Child Mother: Russia; Father: Lithuania Democrat Representative IL
Schatz, Brian Child Father: Canada Democrat Senator HI
Spartz, Victoria Immigrant Ukraine Republican Representative IN
Steel, Michelle Immigrant South Korea Republican Representative CA
Strickland, Marilyn Immigrant South Korea Democrat Representative WA
Thanedar, Shri Immigrant India Democrat Representative MI
Thune, John Child Mother: Canada Republican Senator SD
Tlaib, Rashida Child Both parents: Palestinian territories Democrat Representative MI
Torres, Norma Immigrant Guatemala Democrat Representative CA
Valadao, David Child Both parents: Portugal Republican Representative CA
Vargas, Juan Child Both parents: Mexico Democrat Representative CA
Vasquez, Gabe Child Both parents: Mexico Democrat Representative NM
Wyden, Ron Child Both parents: Germany Democrat Senator OR

Note: Data as of Feb. 28, 2023.
Source: Pew Research Center analysis of data from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, news reports, genealogical records and members’ published comments, and statements from congressional websites and staff.

Janakee Chavda  is an assistant digital producer at Pew Research Center.