What we know about unauthorized immigrants living in the U.S.
The unauthorized immigrant population in the United States reached 10.5 million in 2021. That was a modest increase over 2019 but nearly identical to 2017.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
The unauthorized immigrant population in the United States reached 10.5 million in 2021. That was a modest increase over 2019 but nearly identical to 2017.
U.S. Hispanics are less likely than other Americans to say increasing deportations or a larger wall along the border will help the situation.
Majorities of White Christian groups say the large number of migrants seeking to enter at the border with Mexico is a “crisis” for the United States.
Nearly four-in-ten Latinos (39%) say they worry that they, a family member or someone close to them could be deported.
Today, more than 40 million people living in the U.S. were born in another country, accounting for about one-fifth of the world’s migrants.
If unauthorized U.S. immigrants aren’t counted, 3 states could each lose a seat they otherwise would have had and 3 others each could gain one.
91% of Democrats favor granting legal status to immigrants who came to the U.S. illegally as children; 54% of Republicans say the same.
The first full fiscal year of the Trump administration saw large increases in the number of people arrested and criminally prosecuted for immigration offenses.
In 2017, an estimated 10.5 million unauthorized immigrants lived in the United States, down from a peak of 12.2 million in 2007. Explore trends in the unauthorized immigrant population for U.S. states, as well as for birth countries and regions, based on Pew Research Center estimates.
Sortable table of estimates of unauthorized immigrant populations in 182 U.S. metropolitan areas, derived from a sample of census data.
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