Data for the Congress by Party datasets are based on information published on the websites of the US House of Representatives, Office of the Clerk and the US Senate Historical Office.
Find these listed in two places in the indicator tree:
Using the powerful capability of Data Planet Statistical Datasets to compare multiple indicators from different sources, you can explore various social and economic trends according to political party control of Congress. The chart below shows the trend over time in which party had more seats in the US House of Representatives for a given year:
Compare trends in other indicators according to whether Republicans vs Democrats held control of the US Congress by holding down the control (Ctrl) key and left clicking when selecting the other indicator(s) of interest. For example, in the chart below, housing starts are viewed against when Republicans vs Democrats held majorities in the US House.
Similarly, it is possible to view trends in metrics such as the price of crude against the percentages of Republicans vs Democrats in the US Senate:
Many other interesting trends can be tracked against party control in the US Congress. Remember of course that the graphs show only facts that may or may not be related and provide no evidence of a causal relationship between the two. However, the possibility of a relationship, causal or not, just might trigger further investigation in your own research!
The collection of statistics on immigration and citizenship in the United States are the responsibility of both the United States Census Bureau and the Department of Homeland Security. In this guide, you will learn more about the statistics collected and how to analyze them in Data Planet.
Sample Embed: US Naturalized Citizens by State of Residence
Sample Embed: Immigrant Orphans Adopted by US Citizens
Wondering About US Citizenship?
According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) of the Department of Homeland Security, you may become a United States citizen either at birth or after birth.
To become a citizen at birth, you must:
To become a citizen after birth, you must:
Naturalization is the process by which U.S. citizenship is granted to a foreign citizen or national after they fulfill the requirements established by Congress in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).
US Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the primary source of U.S. citizenship statistics. The major functions of the Census Bureau, a bureau of the U.S. Department of Commerce, are authorized by Article 2, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution, which provides that a census of population shall be taken every 10 years, and by Title 13 and Title 26 of the United States Code of Federal Regulations. The Census Bureau is responsible for numerous statistical programs, including census and surveys of households, governments, manufacturing and industries, and for U.S. foreign trade statistics. The first U.S. census was conducted in 1790 for the purposes of apportioning state representation in the House of Representatives and for the apportionment of taxes.
Census Bureau citizenship statistics come primarily from the decennial census and the American Community Survey (ACS). The census provides counts of the population by race and Hispanic origin, and the ACS provides detailed data on citizenship status. These statistics are based on answers to the questions:
See the examples to explore the granularity of data on immigration and statistics.
US Department of Homeland Security
The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) publishes statistics on counts of persons obtaining lawful permanent residency in a given year. DHS protects the nation against terrorist attacks. DHS was established by the Homeland Security Act of 2002 and is dedicated to achieving this goal while allowing for the free flow of people, goods, and commerce across U.S. borders and through U.S. airports and seaports. DHS consolidates functions from 22 agencies under one vast umbrella with the single critical mission of protecting the United States using state-of-the-art intelligence technology and information.
Sample Statistics
The American Community Survey (ACS) provides granular citizenship and naturalization statistics for the nation and states, and for subnational geographies, including counties, metropolitan statistical areas, census tracts, places, and congressional districts. Data for each release of the 5-year ACS estimates were collected over a 5-year period ending December 31 of the reference year (e.g., data in the 2012 5-year estimates were collected January 1, 2008 – December 31, 2012). The statistics reported represent the characteristics of the population for the entire period vs. a specific year within that period.
Begin exploring ACS statistics on citizenship and naturalization in Data Planet through an example. This DataSheet compares counts of naturalized persons in California according to the period of time during which they were naturalized:
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security also publishes statistics on naturalizations. In Sage Data, you'll find counts of naturalized citizens by state of residence and by country of birth. The chart below shows the trends in naturalizations of individuals born in four countries in the Middle East:
The chart below compares counts of native-born vs. foreign-born persons in five Texas counties:
What is Lawful Permanent Residency?
A lawful permanent resident (LPR), or “green card” recipient, is defined by immigration law as a person who has been granted lawful permanent residence in the United States. Permanent resident status confers certain rights and responsibilities. For example, LPRs may live and work permanently anywhere in the United States, own property, and attend public schools, colleges, and universities. They may also join certain branches of the Armed Forces, and apply to become U.S. citizens if they meet certain eligibility requirements.
Lawful Permanent Residents: Sample Statistics
Click on the links below to view DataSheets created in comprising statistical abstracts complete with infographics of statistics on counts of persons obtaining lawful permanent residency (LPR) status in the United States. From the infographic, subscribers can return to Data Planet to further manipulate the data and explore relationships between these statistics and other indicators in the vast Data Planet repository.
Create a comparison of multiple indicators. To select multiple indicators, you can simply select the checkboxes desired. For example, the chart below compares the numbers of persons receiving LPR status who were admitted as refugees vs. asylees:
Try it yourself with other indicators! Keep in mind that the graphs you create do not necessarily imply causality: the results may suggest a potential relationship between the variables you select, which may be an interesting line of inquiry for your own research.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is responsible for the apprehension or arrest, detention, return, and removal of aliens, or undocumented immigrants, from the United States. Aliens may be removable from the United States for violations including illegally entering the country, failing to abide by the terms and conditions of admission, or committing crimes.
Primary responsibility for the enforcement of immigration law within DHS rests with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). CBP is generally responsible for immigration enforcement at and between the ports of entry, and ICE is generally responsible for interior enforcement, and detention and removal operations. USCIS is generally responsible for the administration of immigration and naturalization functions.
Undocumented Immigrants in the US: Sample Statistics
While the Department of Homeland Security is responsible for enforcing immigration law in the United States, the U.S. Census Bureau also collects data on undocumented immigrants, primarily via the American Community Survey (ACS). This survey includes a question on citizenship status. Responses to this question are used to divide the foreign-born population into naturalized citizens and noncitizens.
Clink on the links below to view DataSheets comprising statistical abstracts complete with infographics of statistics on the noncitizen foreign-born population in the United States in Data Planet Statistical Datasets. Explore other statistics on citizenship as well as relationships between these statistics and other indicators in Data Planet.
Use Data Planet to compare and contrast statistics on the noncitizen foreign-born population in the United States. The powerful functionality of the platform allows you to select multiple indicators, revealing interesting potential areas for further research. To select multiple indicators, check off the boxes to add a second (or third) item in the criteria panel. Click here for more information on Data Planet.