Unauthorized Immigrants in the U.S.

According to new estimates from the Pew Hispanic Center, as of March 2010, 11.2 million unauthorized immigrants were living in the United States, virtually unchanged from the 2009 level of 11.1 million. This stability follows a two-year decline from a peak of 12 million unauthorized immigrants in 2007. Despite the recent decline and leveling off, the number of unauthorized immigrants living in the U.S. has tripled since 1990, when it was 3.5 million. The size of this population grew by a third since its 2000 level of 8.4 million. Unauthorized immigrants are estimated to account for 8 million workers in the labor force as of March 2010, also little changed from 2009 and down from a 2007 peak of 8.4 million. Unauthorized immigrants made up 3.7% of the nation’s population and 5.2% of its labor force in March 2010. The decline in population has been especially marked in some states — Colorado, Florida, New York and Virginia — that recently had attracted large numbers of unauthorized immigrants. Read More