The estimated population of unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. stands at around 11 million people. Although the number has stabilized, the United States has seen a spike in migrant encounters in the last few years, with over two million cases registered by the U.S. Border Patrol in 2023. This is a slight decrease from the previous year, when there were over 2.2 million cases registered. Due to its proximity and shared border, Mexico remains the leading country of origin for most undocumented immigrants in the U.S., with California and Texas being home to the majority.
Immigration and political division
Despite the majority of the population having immigrant roots, the topic of immigration in the U.S. remains one of the country’s longest-standing political debates. Support among Republicans for restrictive immigration has grown alongside Democratic support for open immigration. This growing divide has deepened the polarization between the two major political parties, stifling constructive dialogue and impeding meaningful reform efforts and as a result, has led to dissatisfaction from all sides. In addition to general immigration policy, feelings toward illegal immigration in the U.S. also vary widely. For some, it's seen as a significant threat to national security, cultural identity, and economic stability. This perspective often aligns with support for stringent measures like Trump's proposed border wall and increased enforcement efforts. On the other hand, there are those who are more sympathetic toward undocumented immigrants, as demonstrated by support for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
In January 2022, it was estimated that about 1.85 million male illegal immigrants living in the United States were aged between 35 and 44 years old. In that same year, it was estimated that 1.52 million female illegal immigrants living in the U.S. were between 35 and 44 years old.
In 2022, about 2.58 million illegal aliens were apprehended in the United States. This was a significant increase from the previous year, when there were around 1.87 million illegal aliens apprehended nationwide. Apprehensions refer to Border Patrol apprehensions and ICE administrative arrests.
The latest Irregular migration statistics are now incorporated into the Immigration system statistics.
Return to Immigration system statistics quarterly release collection page.
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67bf172fa0f0c95a498d1fb0/irregular-migration-to-the-UK-summary-tables-year-ending-sep-2024.ods">Irregular migration to the UK summary tables, year ending September 2024 (ODS, 31.7 KB)
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66c47cdfb75776507ecdf45c/irregular-migration-to-the-UK-summary-tables-year-ending-jun-2024.ods">Irregular migration to the UK summary tables, year ending June 2024 (ODS, 30.9 KB)
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6645e961bd01f5ed32793d0a/irregular-migration-to-the-UK-summary-tables-year-ending-mar-2024.ods">Irregular migration to the UK summary tables, year ending March 2024 (ODS, 26.7 KB)
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/65d640c92ab2b300117596b2/irregular-migration-to-the-UK-summary-tables-year-ending-dec-2023.ods">Irregular migration to the UK summary tables, year ending December 2023 (ODS, 25.9 KB)
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/65575cab046ed400148b9ad2/irregular-migration-to-the-UK-summary-tables-year-ending-september-2023.ods">Irregular migration to the UK data tables, year ending September 2023 (ODS, 24.2 KB)
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/64e46cd63309b700121c9c07/irregular-migration-to-the-UK-summary-tables-year-ending-june-2023.ods">Irregular migration to the UK data tables, year ending June 2023 (ODS, 27.6 KB)
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/64edc92ada8451000d632328/irregular-migration-to-the-UK-summary-tables-year-ending-march-2023.ods">Irregular migration to the UK data tables, year ending March 2023 (ODS, 29.8 KB)
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/64edc8ea13ae1500116e2f52/irregular-migration-to-the-UK-summary-tables-year-ending-December-2022.ods">Irregular migration to the UK data tables, year ending December 2022 (ODS, 25.9 KB)
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1117119/irregular-migration-to-the-UK-data-tables-year-ending-september-2022.ods" class="govuk-link">Irregular migration to the UK data tables, year ending September 2022
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This study was conducted to examine whether a rising crime rate in El Paso, Texas and San Diego, California in 1986 could be attributed to, among other factors, the influx of undocumented aliens. Variables include level of involvement of undocumented aliens in serious felony arrests in San Diego and El Paso Counties, the outcome of serious felony arrest cases involving undocumented persons compared to others arrested for similar offenses, the impact of arrests of undocumented aliens on the criminal justice system in terms of workload and cost, the extent that criminal justice agencies coordinate their efforts to apprehend and process undocumented aliens who have committed serious crimes in San Diego and El Paso counties, and how differences in agency objectives impede or enhance coordination. Data are also provided on how many undocumented persons were arrested/convicted for repeat offense in these counties and which type of policies or procedures could be implemented in criminal justice agencies to address the issue of crimes committed by undocumented aliens. Data were collected in the two cities with focus on serious felony offenses. The collection includes sociodemographic characteristics, citizenship status, current arrest, case disposition, and prior criminal history with additional data from San Diego to compute the costs involving undocumented aliens.
In 2022, an estimated 10.99 million unauthorized immigrants were living in the United States. This is an increase from about 3.5 million unauthorized immigrants who lived in the United States in 1990.
In 2019, California had the highest population of unauthorized immigrants, at around 2.74 million. The overall figure for the United States was estimated to be around 11.05 million unauthorized immigrants.
http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2011/833/ojhttp://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2011/833/oj
Frontex collects and processes data from Member States on the number of detections of illegal border crossings at the external borders of the Member States of the European Union. The dataset provides the latest figures on the main routes used by migrants to enter the European Union.
A ‘small boat’ is one of a number of vessels used by individuals who cross the English Channel, with the aim of gaining entry to the UK without a visa or permission to enter – either directly by landing in the UK or having been intercepted at sea by the authorities and brought ashore. The most common small vessels detected making these types of crossings are rigid-hulled inflatable boats (RHIBs), dinghies and kayaks.
Migrants detected crossing the English Channel in small boats - monthly data
As of January 2022, it was estimated that about 4.81 million illegal immigrants from Mexico were living in the United States. It was also estimated that 750,000 illegal immigrants from Guatemala were living in the United States.
Immigration enforcement has ambiguous implications for the crime rate of undocumented immigrants. On the one hand, expulsions reduce the pool of immigrants at risk of committing crimes, on the other they lower the opportunity cost of crime for those who are not expelled. We estimate the effect of expulsions on the crime rate of undocumented immigrants in Italy exploiting variation in enforcement toward immigrants of different nationality, due to the existence of bilateral agreements for the control of illegal migration. We find that stricter enforcement of migration policy reduces the crime rate of undocumented immigrants.
Data on small boat arrivals for the last 7 days is updated every day.
The time series for small boat arrivals is updated weekly on Friday. The time series goes back to 2018.
The figures for French prevention are updated weekly every Friday. French prevention activity includes individuals who are prevented from departing France, those who return to France and finds of maritime equipment.
The data published here is provisional and subject to change, including reduction. Finalised data on small boat crossings since 2018 is published in the quarterly Immigration system statistics under the topic “How many people come to the UK irregularly”.
If you have any questions about the data, please contact migrationstatsenquiries@homeoffice.gov.uk.
https://homeofficemedia.blog.gov.uk/2023/01/31/latest-statement-in-response-to-small-boat-crossings/" class="govuk-link">Home Office press statement on small boat crossings
For press enquiries, please contact the newsdesk on 0300 123 3535.
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/legal/#copyright-public-domainhttps://fred.stlouisfed.org/legal/#copyright-public-domain
Graph and download economic data for Employment Level - Foreign Born (LNU02073395) from Jan 2007 to Feb 2025 about foreign, household survey, employment, and USA.
This document contains data on:
In 2022, the greatest number of illegal aliens returned in the United States were from the Philippines, with 39,891 illegal aliens returned. India, Canada, China, and Russia rounded out the top five in that year.
This document contains data on:
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Thailand Number of Aliens Work Permit: Illegal Immigrant data was reported at 66,483.000 Unit in Oct 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 65,125.000 Unit for Sep 2018. Thailand Number of Aliens Work Permit: Illegal Immigrant data is updated monthly, averaging 25,261.000 Unit from Jan 1994 (Median) to Oct 2018, with 298 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 206,014.000 Unit in Nov 1997 and a record low of 4,557.000 Unit in Nov 1996. Thailand Number of Aliens Work Permit: Illegal Immigrant data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Office of Foreign Workers Administration (Work Permit). The data is categorized under Global Database’s Thailand – Table TH.G007: No of Aliens Work Permit.
Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
License information was derived automatically
Thailand Number of Aliens Work Permit: Ap: Illegal Immigrants data was reported at 4,785.000 Unit in Dec 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 4,360.000 Unit for Nov 2017. Thailand Number of Aliens Work Permit: Ap: Illegal Immigrants data is updated monthly, averaging 4,501.500 Unit from Jan 2014 (Median) to Dec 2017, with 48 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 13,720.000 Unit in Mar 2017 and a record low of 2,436.000 Unit in Apr 2014. Thailand Number of Aliens Work Permit: Ap: Illegal Immigrants data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Department of Employment. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Thailand – Table TH.G008: No of Aliens Work Permit.
According to the source, 9,662 irregular migrants arrived in Spain in January 2021, which represented the highest number of irregular migrants of the study period, second only to October 2018, with 11010 cases. February, March and April tend to be the months with the lowest arrival of illegal migrants.
This document contains data on:
The estimated population of unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. stands at around 11 million people. Although the number has stabilized, the United States has seen a spike in migrant encounters in the last few years, with over two million cases registered by the U.S. Border Patrol in 2023. This is a slight decrease from the previous year, when there were over 2.2 million cases registered. Due to its proximity and shared border, Mexico remains the leading country of origin for most undocumented immigrants in the U.S., with California and Texas being home to the majority.
Immigration and political division
Despite the majority of the population having immigrant roots, the topic of immigration in the U.S. remains one of the country’s longest-standing political debates. Support among Republicans for restrictive immigration has grown alongside Democratic support for open immigration. This growing divide has deepened the polarization between the two major political parties, stifling constructive dialogue and impeding meaningful reform efforts and as a result, has led to dissatisfaction from all sides. In addition to general immigration policy, feelings toward illegal immigration in the U.S. also vary widely. For some, it's seen as a significant threat to national security, cultural identity, and economic stability. This perspective often aligns with support for stringent measures like Trump's proposed border wall and increased enforcement efforts. On the other hand, there are those who are more sympathetic toward undocumented immigrants, as demonstrated by support for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.