More than 140,000 Bangladeshi nationals — larger than the population of Dayton, Ohio — have entered the United States since 2005 for no other reason than to reunite with extended family members, newly released data reveals.
Previously unreleased Department of Homeland Security (DHS) information shows the large-scale mass immigration that has occurred where foreign relatives can enter the U.S. simply because their family member is an immigrant. This process is known as “chain migration.”
Since 2005, the U.S. has admitted and resettled 141,501 Bangladeshi nationals who entered because their foreign relatives were already living in the country.
A chart released to Breitbart News reveals the increasing flow of foreign nationals under the process of chain migration, where on average every two new immigrants bring seven foreign relatives with them to the U.S.
- 8,508 Bangladeshi nationals entered U.S. in 2005 as chain migrants
- 9,936 entered in 2006
- 7,765 entered in 2007
- 7,795 entered in 2008
- 12,974 entered in 2009
- 11,407 entered in 2010
- 13,136 entered in 2011
- 13,379 entered in 2012
- 11,346 entered in 2013
- 14,170 entered in 2014
- 13,034 entered in 2015
- 18,051 entered in 2016
- Since 2005, 141,501 Bangladeshi nationals have entered U.S. as chain migrants
The scale to which the U.S. has mass immigrated Bangladeshi nationals comes after 27-year-old Akayed Ullah, a Bangladesh national, allegedly attempted to detonate a suicide bomb in New York City, New York on Monday, injuring at least three individuals.
Ullah reportedly entered the U.S. seven years ago in 2010. It remains unclear if the suspected Islamic State-inspired terrorist entered as a chain migrant with family ties.
Another suspected ISIS-inspired New York City terrorist, Uzbek national 29-year-old Sayfullo Saipov who is accused of murdering at least eight individuals, entered the U.S. in 2010 by winning one of the 50,000 visas randomly allotted every year under the Diversity Visa Lottery.
The Visa Lottery dolls out 50,000 visas annually to foreign nationals from a multitude of countries. The countries include those with terrorist problems, including Afghanistan, Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Syria, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela, Yemen, and Uzbekistan.
About 9.3 million foreign nationals have come to the U.S. as chain migrants between 2005 and 2016, Breitbart News reported. In that same time period, a total of 13.06 million foreign nationals have entered the U.S. through the legal immigration system, as every seven out of 10 new arrivals come to the country for nothing other than family reunification.
This makes chain migration the largest driver of immigration to the U.S. — making up more than 70 percent — with every two new arrivals bringing seven foreign relatives with them.
Currently, only one in 15 foreign nationals admitted to the U.S. come to the country based on skills and employment purposes. Though roughly 150,000 employment-based Green Cards are allotted every year, half of those Green Cards actually go to the foreign relatives of employees.
Since 2005, the U.S. admitted 80,252 chain migrants from Iran, despite the nation being listed by the U.S. State Department as a sponsor of terrorism.
President Trump has called for ending both chain migration and the Diversity Visa Lottery.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.