FILE - People wave miniature American flags during a naturalization ceremony in San Diego, California, on March 22, 2017. Photographer: David Maung/Bloomberg via Getty Images Without immigration, the white population in the U.S.
would have declined last year.Immigration also propelled the expansion of the Asian population, which was the fastest-growing race or ethnic group last year in the U.S., while births outpacing deaths helped propel growth in Hispanic, Black, tribal and Hawaiian populations.Population estimates released Thursday by the U.S.
Census Bureau show what drove changes in different race, ethnic and age groups last year, as well as since the start of COVID-19's spread in the U.S.
in April 2020. The country had grown to 333.2 million people by the middle of last year, a 0.4% increase over the previous year, according to the 2022 population estimates.For white residents in the U.S., immigration drove the expansion.