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.

The estimated population of unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. stands at around ** million people. Although the number has stabilized, the United States has seen a spike in migrant encounters in the last few years, with over * million cases registered by the U.S. Border Patrol in 2023. This is a slight decrease from the previous year, when there were over *** 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.

Acknowledgement

The following table is imported from the 2019 Yearbook of Immigration Statistics under the Department of Homeland Security:

The 2019 Yearbook of Immigration Statistics is a compendium of tables that provide data on foreign nationals who are granted lawful permanent residence (i.e., immigrants who receive a “green card”), admitted as temporary nonimmigrants, granted asylum or refugee status, or are naturalized. The Yearbook also presents data on immigration enforcement actions, including apprehensions and arrests, removals, and returns.

Table 39. Aliens Removed or Returned: Fiscal Years 1892 to 2019 (https://www.dhs.gov/immigration-statistics/yearbook/2019/table39)

Inspiration

The data was collected to observe trends in history reflecting the number of immigrants deported - more specifically removed or returned.

This statistic shows the estimated percentage of employed undocumented immigrants in the United States in 2016, distinguished by industry. In 2017, around 14.2 percent of agriculture workers were estimated to be undocumented immigrants.

This statistic shows the number of undocumented immigrants caught in South Korea in 2018, broken down by country of origin. In that year, more than *** thousand undocumented immigrants from Thailand and more than ** thousand immigrants from China were caught. In total, around *** thousand illegal immigrants were caught.

This graph shows the states with the highest search demand for immigration legal help, comparing 10 states and the number of undocumented immigrants. This also takes into consideration the % of undocumented immigrants, state laws on immigration enforcement (ranked 1-5), and search volume per 10k undocumented immigrants.

This chart shows the four states with the lowest demand for immigration legal help, based on the number of legal help searches per 10k undocumented immigrants.

In 2019, California had the highest population of unauthorized immigrants, at around **** million. The overall figure for the United States was estimated to be around ***** million unauthorized immigrants.

The percentage of the population in the state who is an undocumented immigrant (2015-2018).Source: Migration Policy Institute. 2015 - 2018.

Unauthorized population estimates for 1990, 2000, and 2014.

Dataset from Immigration and Checkpoints Authority. For more information, visit https://data.gov.sg/datasets/d_1dc58c8dc5ebd00aa4fcfa3c62ad162f/view

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.

In 2016, New York City designed and implemented an intervention to reduce frictions in accessing safety-net care: randomly making initial primary care appointments for 2,428 undocumented immigrants. We leverage a novel survey-administrative data linkage to show that the program increased self-reported access to primary care, leading to 23% fewer emergency department (ED) visits. High-risk individuals' ED visits fell by 32% on average, driving the aggregate effect. Preventive care also increased among individuals visiting sponsored clinics.

This statistic illustrates the number of undocumented migrant arrivals in the United States in 2016, by method of arrival. In that year, ******* migrants entered the U.S. by overstaying their visa.