‘Major Demographic Force in Philadelphia’: Immigrants Up 69% in City Since 2000, According to Pew Report

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"More than 232,000 foreign-born people currently call Philadelphia home, up nearly 70 percent since 2000, Pew found. If children of first-generation immigrants are included, the number jumps to more than 330,000 people."

"Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney has repeatedly said the economic and cultural advantages of having a large immigrant population are reason enough to keep Philly as a sanctuary city. In touting the power of diversity, Kenney said that his own ancestry, which is Irish, was once viewed as problematic by U.S.-born citizens but is now considered commonplace."

"But the Department of Justice offered a different take in its response to the ruling, saying “is a victory for criminal aliens in Philadelphia, who can continue to commit crimes in the City knowing that its leadership will protect them from federal immigration officers whose job it is to hold them accountable and remove them from the country.”

"In Philadelphia, they increased by around 66,000, or 89 percent, while natives in the labor force rose by around 28,000, or just 5 percent,” the report said of increased numbers of working immigrants. “In the suburbs, immigrant workers grew at a similar pace while natives in the labor force actually decreased in number.”