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 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.
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.
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.
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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)
The data was collected to observe trends in history reflecting the number of immigrants deported - more specifically removed or returned.
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.
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Users can customize charts and tables containing statistics that describe children of immigrants in the United States. Users can download tables and charts as an Excel or PDF file. Topics include: citizenship, immigrant status, poverty and education, among others. Background The Children of Immigrants Data Tool and fact sheets are maintained by the Urban Institute, which conducts economic and social policy research to inform public policy. This interactive data tool describes the population of children of immigrants in the United States. Topics include: citizenship, immigrant status, poverty, and education, among others. User Functionality Users can interact with the Children of Immigrants Data Tool to customize charts and ta bles describing characteristics of U.S. children of immigrants, age 0-17 in 2005-2006, 2006-2007, 2007-2008 their parents, and families. The results generated from the interactive data tool can be downloaded as an Excel or PDF file. In addition, users can download the Children of Immigrants Fact Sheet as a PDF file. Data Notes Data Tool statistics were derived from the 2005-2008 American Community Survey. Data sources for the fact sheet include: the 2000 U.S. Census of Population and Housing; the 2002, 2003, and 2005 U.S. Current Population Survey, Annual Demographic and Economic Supplement, March; and The Urban Institute’s 1999 and 2002 National Survey of America’s Families.
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Unauthorized population estimates for 1990, 2000, and 2014.
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.
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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.
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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.
California is home to 12 percent of the nation's population yet accounts for more than 20 percent of the people living in the nation’s hardest-to-count areas, according to the United States Census Bureau (U.S. Census Bureau). California's unique diversity, large population distributed across both urban and rural areas, and sheer geographic size present significant barriers to achieving a complete and accurate count. The state’s population is more racially and ethnically diverse than ever before, with about 18 percent of Californians speaking English “less than very well,” according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates. Because the 2020 Census online form was offered in only twelve non-English languages, which did not correspond with the top spoken language in California, and a paper questionnaire only in English and Spanish, many Californians may not have been able to access a census questionnaire or written guidance in a language they could understand. In order to earn the confidence of California’s most vulnerable populations, it was critical during the 2020 Census that media and trusted messengers communicate with them in their primary language and in accessible formats. An accurate count of the California population in each decennial census is essential to receive its equitable share of federal funds and political representation, through reapportionment and redistricting. It plays a vital role in many areas of public life, including important investments in health, education, housing, social services, highways, and schools. Without a complete count in the 2020 Census, the State faced a potential loss of congressional seats and billions of dollars in muchneeded federal funding. An undercount of California in 1990 cost an estimated $2 billion in federal funding. The potential loss of representation and critically needed funding could have long-term impacts; only with a complete count does California receive the share of funding the State deserves with appropriate representation at the federal, state, and local government levels. The high stakes and formidable challenges made this California Complete Count Census 2020 Campaign (Campaign) the most important to date. The 2020 Census brought an unprecedented level of new challenges to all states, beyond the California-specific hurdles discussed above. For the first time, the U.S. Census Bureau sought to collect data from households through an online form. While the implementation of digital forms sought to reduce costs and increase participation, its immediate impact is still unknown as of this writing, and it may have substantially changed how many households responded to the census. In addition, conditions such as the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, a contentious political climate, ongoing mistrust and distrust of government, and rising concerns about privacy may have discouraged people to open their doors, or use computers, to participate. Federal immigration policy, as well as the months-long controversy over adding a citizenship question to the census, may have deterred households with mixed documentation status, recent immigrants, and undocumented immigrants from participating. In 2017, to prepare for the unique challenges of the 2020 Census, California leaders and advocates reflected on lessons learned from previous statewide census efforts and launched the development of a high-impact strategy to efficiently raise public awareness about the 2020 Census. Subsequently, the State established the California Complete Count – Census 2020 Office (Census Office) and invested a significant sum for the Campaign. The Campaign was designed to educate, motivate, and activate Californians to respond to the 2020 Census. It relied heavily on grassroots messaging and outreach to those least likely to fill out the census form. One element of the Campaign was the Language and Communication Access Plan (LACAP), which the Census Office developed to ensure that language and communication access was linguistically and culturally relevant and sensitive and provided equal and meaningful access for California’s vulnerable populations. The Census Office contracted with outreach partners, including community leaders and organizations, local government, and ethnic media, who all served as trusted messengers in their communities to deliver impactful words and offer safe places to share information and trusted messages. The State integrated consideration of hardest-to-count communities’ needs throughout the Campaign’s strategy at both the statewide and regional levels. The Campaign first educated, then motivated, and during the census response period, activated Californians to fill out their census form. The Census Office’s mission was to ensure that Californians get their fair share of resources and representation by encouraging the full participation of all Californians in the 2020 Census. This report focuses on the experience of the Census Office and partner organizations who worked to achieve the most complete count possible, presenting an evaluation of four outreach and communications strategies.
This statistic shows the top ten metropolitan areas in the United States with highest unauthorized immigrant populations in 2014. With over one million unauthorized people, New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA had the highest illegal immigrant population in the United States in 2014.
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This study examines the political participation of undocumented Mexican immigrants residing in the United States in Mexican external voting. As international mobility of people has increased globally, scholarly attention has grown concerning how overseas citizens engage in electoral processes in their countries of origin. However, previous studies based on traditional survey methods may have yielded biased results due to the underrepresentation of undocumented immigrants, who are less likely to enroll in survey company panels due to concerns about the potential compromise of their identities. To include this hard-to-reach population and conduct representative sampling, our research employs a method called respondent-driven sampling (RDS), which permits the surveying of a population devoid of a sampling frame. Our analysis of the Mexican case demonstrates that a lack of electoral information, lower levels of education, and heightened distrust of the Mexican government are associated with diminished electoral participation.
https://www.icpsr.umich.edu/web/ICPSR/studies/36625/termshttps://www.icpsr.umich.edu/web/ICPSR/studies/36625/terms
The Latino Second Generation Study is a national survey of the political experiences and attitudes of 1,050 U.S. born second generation Latinos of foreign-born parents. The goal of the project is to advance scholarly understanding of political socialization and of the long-term effects of the U.S. immigration system on citizen, civic and political participation in the U.S. Additional variables include behavior and attitudes, family immigration history, and demographic background. The survey was fielded online in English and Spanish by the research firm GfK in the summer of 2013. Demographic variables include age, income, size of household, education level, marital status, race/ethnicity, gender, and parent's country of birth and citizenship.
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Emigration rates for border crossers during the 1990s.
Immigration system statistics quarterly release.
The Microsoft Excel .xlsx files may not be suitable for users of assistive technology.
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of these documents in a more accessible format, please email migrationstatistics@homeoffice.gov.uk
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https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/68a6ecc6bceafd8d0d96a086/regional-and-local-authority-dataset-jun-2025.ods">Regional and local authority data on immigration groups, year ending June 2025 (ODS, 264 KB)
Reg_01: Immigration groups, by Region and Devolved Administration
Reg_02: Immigration groups, by Local Authority
Please note that the totals across all pathways and per capita percentages for City of London and Isles of Scilly do not include Homes for Ukraine arrivals due to suppression, in line with published Homes for Ukraine figures.
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6825e438a60aeba5ab34e046/regional-and-local-authority-dataset-mar-2025.xlsx">Regional and local authority data on immigration groups, year ending March 2025 (MS Excel Spreadsheet, 279 KB)
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67bc89984ad141d90835347b/regional-and-local-authority-dataset-dec-2024.ods">Regional and local authority data on immigration groups, year ending December 2024 (ODS, 263 KB)
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/675c7e1a98302e574b91539f/regional-and-local-authority-dataset-sep-24.ods">Regional and local authority data on immigration groups, year ending September 2024 (ODS, 262 KB)
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66bf74a8dcb0757928e5bd4c/regional-and-local-authority-dataset-jun-24.ods">Regional and local authority data on immigration groups, year ending June 2024 (ODS, 263 KB)
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66c31766b75776507ecdf3a1/regional-and-local-authority-dataset-mar-24-third-edition.ods">Regional and local authority data on immigration groups, year ending March 2024 (third edition) (ODS, 91.4 KB)
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/65ddd9ebf1cab3001afc4795/regional-and-local-authority-dataset-dec-2023.ods">Regional and local authority data on immigration groups, year ending December 2023 (ODS, 91.6 KB)
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/65ddda05cf7eb10011f57fbd/regional-and-local-authority-dataset-sep-2023.ods">Regional and local authority data on immigration groups, year ending September 2023 (ODS<
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Users can download data and reports regarding the experience of Latinos in the United States. Users can also interact with maps to view population trends over time. Background The Pew Hispanic Center website contains reports and datasets regarding the experience of Latinos in the United States. Topics include, but are not limited to: homeownership, elections, criminal justice system, and education. User Functionality Users can view and download reports. Users can also interact with maps to obtain demographic information and view population trends from 1980 to 2010. Datasets are also available to download directly into SPSS stat istical software. Surveys administered by the Pew Hispanic Center include: Hispanic Health Care Survey, National Survey of Latinos, Hispanic Religion Survey, Survey of Mexicans Living in the U.S. on Absentee Voting in Mexican Elections, Survey o f Mexican Migrants, and the Survey of Latinos on the News Media. Demographic information is available by race/ethnicity. Data Notes Report information is available on a national and county level and is indicated with the report or dataset. Demographic trends in population growth and dispersion are available for 1980 through 2010. Each report and dataset indicate years in which the data were collected and the geographic unit.
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 Jul 2025 about foreign, household survey, employment, and USA.
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.