ST. LOUIS—A focused effort to grow the St. Louis region’s population by attracting immigrants appears to be paying off, according to new numbers released by the U.S. Census Bureau.

According to the bureau’s American Community Survey, the St. Louis metropolitan region saw its foreign-born population grow by 23.2% between 2022 and 2023, translating into nearly 160,000 people. That’s a metric that puts St. Louis atop the country’s 30 largest metro populations.

News that the region’s Latino population grew by 14,000 people year-over-year, putting it fourth in percentage growth nationally, came as officials celebrated the start of Hispanic Heritage Month with flag ceremonies at City Hall downtown and outside the county administration building in Clayton.

Two years ago, there was no flag designed to be put up.

What You Need To Know

  • The St. Louis metropolitan region saw its foreign-born population grow by 23.2% between 2022 and 2023, translating into nearly 160,000 people, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. That’s a metric that puts St. Louis atop the country’s 30 largest metro populations

  • The region’s Latino population grew by 14,000 people year-over-year, putting it fourth in percentage growth nationally

  • The St. Louis region's efforts to grow via migration is focused on people who are legally eligible to be here, including refugees, students, or immigrants living in other U.S. cities who are following relatives here

  • Immigration advocates have voiced concerns that rhetoric and policy coming from state lawmakers and officials who have focused on criminal activity connected to illegal immigration could have an effect of driving away legal immigrants 

What’s happened since is a focused effort to attract people who have legal status to be here.

“This is growth that’s coming from a number of different areas. Central America, South America, but it includes everything from international students to refugees that are coming here to family members that are joining their family here in St. Louis from other cities across the country,” said Suzanne Sierra, Assistant Director of the St. Louis Mosaic Project, which launched in 2012 with the goal of making the St. Louis region “into the fastest growing major metropolitan area for immigration by 2025.”

“What’s happening in St. Louis is secondary migration, so it’s already people that are work-authorized, that are already documented, that they have the proper documentation to be here. We’re not opening the gates for undocumented migrants to come in,” said Gilberto Pinela, Director of St. Louis’ Office of New Americans.

The advocacy for increased immigration to the region comes amid a national debate over undocumented immigration through the southern border, and a focus on high-profile criminal activity in the U.S. and Missouri, tied to undocumented immigrants. 

Missouri sent Highway Patrol and National Guard resources to the Texas-Mexico border to help law enforcement officials secure the border, and candidates for office here, almost all Republicans, have made regular trips to the border to survey the situation.

Missouri House Speaker Dean Plocher, R-Des Peres, announced the formation of a state legislative committee to investigate the impact of illegal immigration and crime. The panel’s chairman has insisted that his own focus and that of the committee’s, is to look at criminal activity in the context of the immigrants also being victimized. 

But immigration advocates here say they’re concerned that the rhetoric and potential legislation coming from the state capitol will ultimately deter documented immigrants who have options.

"If you are a citizen of Germany, for example, or someplace that you’re relocating, you’re thinking about relocation, because Bayer has an opportunity for you or Ralston Purina or a company like that has an opportunity for you, you may think twice about it,” Pinela said. ”If you’re a student coming to one of our universities, you may think about it twice because you don’t want to see the aggression, you want to feel like you’re welcome and you want to feel that people are very happy to see you and they’re going to do whatever they can in order for you to be a part of making this place fantastic.” 

For Gabriela Ramírez-Arellano, co-founder of STL Juntos, which advocates for language access, Hispanic Heritage month and the new data serves as a reminder of a growing base of power and influence.

“Through economic impact, cultural contributions or leadership in community, latinos are advancing and shaping the future of this city, creating spaces for the next generation to stand tall and proud,” she said. “No longer are we sitting on the sidelines, we are leading movements, making decisions, and pushing for change that benefits not only Latinos but all communities in St. Louis.”