Unauthorized Immigration

Unauthorized Immigrants: How Pew Research Counts Them and What We Know About Them

A Nation of Immigrants

The nation’s total immigrant population reached a record 40.4 million in 2011, according to an analysis of Census Bureau data by the Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center. Over the last decade, the number of immigrants in the U.S. has steadily grown. Since 2007 alone, the number of immigrants living in [...]

Unauthorized Immigrants: 11.1 Million in 2011

There were 11.1 million unauthorized immigrants living in the U.S. in March 2011, unchanged from the previous two years and a continuation of the sharp decline in this population since its peak in 2007, according to estimates by the Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center. The estimate for 2011 is not [...]

Up to 1.7 Million Unauthorized Immigrant Youth May Benefit from New Deportation Rules

Up to 1.7 million unauthorized immigrants ages 30 and under who arrived in the U.S. as children are eligible for a new Obama administration program that would shield them from deportation and enable them to apply for temporary but renewable work permits, according to updated estimates from the Pew Hispanic Center.

Up to 1.4 Million Unauthorized Immigrants Could Benefit from New Deportation Policy

Up to 1.4 million children and young adults who are in the United States illegally could potentially benefit from today’s announcement by the Obama Administration about changes in deportation policies.

Net Migration from Mexico Falls to Zero—and Perhaps Less

The largest wave of immigration in history from a single country to the United States has come to a standstill.

As Deportations Rise to Record Levels, Most Latinos Oppose Obama’s Policy

By a ratio of more than two-to-one (59% versus 27%), Latinos disapprove of the way the Obama administration is handling deportations of unauthorized immigrants.

Unauthorized Immigrants: Length of Residency, Patterns of Parenthood

Nearly two-thirds of the 10.2 million unauthorized adult immigrants in the United States have lived in this country for at least 10 years and nearly half are parents of minor children.

Unauthorized Immigrant Population: National and State Trends, 2010

As of March 2010, 11.2 million unauthorized immigrants were living in the United States, virtually unchanged from a year earlier, according to new estimates from the Pew Hispanic Center.

Illegal Immigration Backlash Worries, Divides Latinos

The national political backlash against illegal immigration has created new divisions among Latinos and heightened their concerns about discrimination against members of their ethnic group-including those who were born in the United States or who immigrated legally.

U.S. Unauthorized Immigration Flows Are Down Sharply Since Mid-Decade

The annual inflow of unauthorized immigrants to the U.S. was nearly two-thirds smaller in the March 2007 to March 2009 period than it had been from March 2000 to March 2005.

Unauthorized Immigrants and Their U.S.-Born Children

An estimated 340,000 of the 4.3 million babies born in the United States in 2008 were the offspring of unauthorized immigrants, according to a new analysis of Census Bureau data.

Mexican Immigrants: How Many Come? How Many Leave?

The flow of immigrants from Mexico to the United States has declined sharply since mid-decade, but there is no evidence of an increase during this period in the number of Mexican-born migrants returning home from the U.S.

A Portrait of Unauthorized Immigrants in the United States

The nation’s 11.9 million unauthorized immigrants are more geographically dispersed than in the past, according to a new demographic and geographic analysis of this group that includes population and labor force estimates for each state.

A Rising Share: Hispanics and Federal Crime

Sharp growth in illegal immigration and increased enforcement of immigration laws have dramatically altered the ethnic composition of offenders sentenced in federal courts.

Sharp Decline in Income for Non-Citizen Immigrant Households, 2006-2007

The current economic slowdown has taken a far greater toll on non-citizen immigrants than it has on the United States population as a whole.

Trends in Unauthorized Immigration: Undocumented Inflow Now Trails Legal Inflow

There were 11.9 million unauthorized immigrants living in the United States in March 2008. The size of the unauthorized population appears to have declined since 2007.

2007 National Survey of Latinos: As Illegal Immigration Issue Heats Up, Hispanics Feel a Chill

Hispanics in the United States are feeling a range of negative effects from the increased public attention and stepped-up enforcement measures that have accompanied the growing national debate over illegal immigration.

2006 National Survey of Latinos

Latinos are feeling more discriminated against, politically energized and unified following the immigration policy debate and the pro-immigration marches this spring.

America’s Immigration Quandary

A growing number of Americans believe that immigrants are a burden to the country, taking jobs and housing and creating strains on the health care system. Many people also worry about the cultural impact of the expanding number of newcomers in the U.S.

Size and Characteristics of the Unauthorized Migrant Population in the U.S.

Analysis of the March 2005 Current Population Survey shows that there were 11.1 million unauthorized migrants in the United States a year ago.

Rise, Peak and Decline: Trends in U.S. Immigration 1992 – 2004

The number of migrants coming to the United States each year, legally and illegally, grew very rapidly starting in the mid-1990s, hit a peak at the end of the decade, and then declined substantially after 2001.

Unauthorized Migrants: Numbers and Characteristics

Most of the unauthorized population lives in families, a quarter has at least some college education and illegal workers can be found in many sectors of the US economy.

Estimates of the Size and Characteristics of the Undocumented Population

The undocumented population of the US now numbers nearly 11 million people, including more than 6 million Mexicans according to new estimates based on the most recent official data available.

Immigration Data Excerpts

In light of President George W. Bush's January 7, 2004 announcement of a new immigration initiative, the Pew Hispanic Center provided information about attitudes towards immigrant and immigration policy, and estimates of the size of the undocumented population in the United States. Sources for the data are the National Survey of Latinos, conducted in 2002 jointly by the Pew Hispanic Center and the Kaiser Family Foundation, and the Center's March 2002 report entitled “How Many Undocumented: The Numbers Behind the U.S.-Mexico Migration Talk.”

Guest Workers

This paper addresses three questions: (1) How many unauthorized workers are employed in U.S. agriculture? (2) How many unauthorized farm workers would be eligible for a legalization or guest worker program that required e.g. 60, 90 or 120 days of U.S. farm work during a qualifying 12-month base period? (3)How many guest workers would be admitted under the most likely legalization/guest worker programs; that is, what are likely exit rates from the farm work force for newly legalized workers? The concluding section discusses the implications of alternative scenarios for dealing with immigration and farm workers.

How Many Undocumented

There are more than 5 million unauthorized workers in the U.S. economy. This study estimates that these workers have become a very substantial presence in the sectors where they are concentrated. More than a million undocumented persons are employed in manufacturing and a similar number in the service industries. More than 600,000 work in construction and more than 700,000 in restaurants.

Estimates of Numbers of Unauthorized Migrants Residing In the United States

This brief report presents estimates of the number of unauthorized immigrants in the United States in mid-2001 for three separate groups: the total unauthorized population, the Mexican unauthorized population, and the non-Mexican Central American unauthorized population. The approach to estimation used is one set forth recently by Bean, et al (2001) that extends and amplifies work originally begun as part of the Mexico/U.S. Binational Migration Study (1997; Bean, et al. 1998). The specific features of the approach are described in detail in Bean, et al (2001). Basically, the method involves subtracting estimates of the numbers of persons residing in the country legally from the numbers of foreign born persons in official government surveys (which are known to contain both legal and unauthorized persons), and then adjusting for extra undercount of such persons in the surveys. The resulting figures give estimates of various unauthorized populations in the country.