The population of the United States has nearly reached 315 million, with immigrants continuing to supply a substantial part of the growth

The United States reached the 300 million mark in 2006, with the enthusiastic approval of the pro-growth and pro-diversity crowds. Even as the number of births in the United States continued to edge lower, about 885,800 immigrants settled in the United States in the most recent year, which ended July 1, 2012. That was about 110,000 more than in the same period a year earlier, according to the census data. In California, long a hub of immigration, new arrivals from other nations added about 132,600 to the state’s population in the most recent year. The gain represented a 14% increase, the same as the nationwide rate of change. The census tally doesn’t differentiate between legal and illegal immigrants.