Within the last five decades, close to 59 million immigrants entered the U.S., resulting in a record high foreign-born population for the nation. According to a recent Pew report, descendants reshaped the nation's ethnic and racial composition, and immigrants have helped to make the U.S. a younger nation.

"Modern Immigration Wave Brings 59 Million to U.S., Driving Population Growth and Change Through 2065" was published Sept. 28 and provides a century's worth of stats that focus on immigration's impact on population. It examined the shifts in the nation's immigration system, from historical European influx to the tremendous inflow of Asian and Latin American immigrants in recent years.

Modern-era immigrants and their offspring have reshaped the nation's ethnic and racial composition. Throughout the mid-19th and early 20th century, a majority of immigrants were from European nations, while 51 percent of immigrants since 1965 arrived from Latin American nations, and one-quarter from Asia. The foreign-born population was 9.6 million in 1965, and peaked at 45 million in 2015 (reduced from 59 million immigrants due to deaths, deportations and departures).

Based on current trends, the next 50 years will bring 78 million immigrants, and those immigrants and their descendants are projected to account for 88 percent of the nation's population increase. By 2055, non-Hispanic whites will account for less than half of the population, and a decade later they will fall to 46 percent. At the same time, the Hispanic population share will rise from 18 percent to 24 percent by 2065. Also, Asian population growth will surge 8 percent during the same time frame (6 percent today to 14 percent by 2065).

While immigrant influx has slowed, U.S. still has the world's largest immigrant population, holding 20 percent of the world's immigrants, said the report. Between 1965 and 2015, immigrants added 72 million people to the nation's population. Meanwhile, Asian immigrants are estimated to make up a larger share of all immigrants, becoming the largest immigrant group by 2055, comprising 38 percent of the foreign-born population by 2065. Since 2011, Asia has been the largest source region among recently arrived immigrants. Chinese immigrants are the largest immigrant group in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, and Filipinos are the largest immigrant group in Alaska and Hawaii.

The 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act was legislation that changed to U.S. immigration policy, creating a quota system that favored family unification and skilled immigrants. Also, the arrival of so many immigrants slightly reduced the nation's median age. The median age in 1965 was 28; without immigration the nation's median age would have would have been older. While the nation's median age in 2015 is 38 years, the median age would be 41 years in 2015.

Foreign-born residents in the U.S. are comprised of legal and undocumented immigrants, but Mexicans remain the largest undocumented immigrant group. Nonetheless, new arrivals of Mexican immigrants are at the lowest level in 50 years.

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