Illegal Immigrant Population in U.S. Drops Significantly
Christopher Weber
Correspondent
Posted:
02/11/10
The number of illegal immigrants in the United States fell to 10.8 million last year, from 11.6 million in 2008, according to a new report by the Department of Homeland Security.
It was the sharpest drop in years and some analysts say it is largely due to undocumented immigrants being deported or voluntarily leaving because jobs are hard to come by during the ongoing recession, The Los Angeles Times reported. Other researchers believe the decline is because fewer illegal immigrants are entering the U.S.
It was the sharpest drop in years and some analysts say it is largely due to undocumented immigrants being deported or voluntarily leaving because jobs are hard to come by during the ongoing recession, The Los Angeles Times reported. Other researchers believe the decline is because fewer illegal immigrants are entering the U.S.
The only state to see its number of undocumented residents go up in 2009 was Georgia, which went from 460,000 to 480,000, according to the Times.
The DHS said there were 11.7 illegal immigrants living in the U.S. in 2007.
The report is based on census data.