Illegal Immigrant Population and Influx of New Arrivals Has Fallen, Study Says
Bruce Drake
Contributing Editor
Posted:
09/1/10
The annual influx of unauthorized immigrants dropped sharply in the period between March 2007 and March 2009, representing the first significant reversal in the growth of the population of illegals in two decades, according to an analysis of Census data by the Pew Hispanic Center.
The average inflow for the 2007-2009 period of all unauthorized immigrants was 300,000 compared to 550,000 from March 2005 to March 2007. In the first half of the decade, March 2000 to March 2005, the average annual inflow was 850,000.
The result has been an eight percent reduction in the number of unauthorized immigrants currently living in the U.S., from a peak of 12 million in March 2007 to 11.1 million in March 2009, Pew said.
However, Pew noted that current number was still significantly larger than in 2000 when it was 8.4 million.
There has also been a drop or leveling-off in the number of unauthorized immigrants who have been the biggest focus of the current immigration debate -- those coming from Mexico and Latin American countries.
Pew said that the unauthorized Mexico population in the U.S. which accounts for roughly 60 percent of all illegals, peaked in 2007 has since leveled off. The number of those illegal immigrants from Mexico newly arriving in the U.S. dropped to an average of 150,000 annually compared to an average of 500,000 a year between 2000 and 2005.
However, with 6.7 million unauthorized Mexican immigrants still in the country, Pew said there is "no evidence of a recent increase in the number of Mexican-born migrants returning home from the U.S." despite "major shifts in the level of immigration enforcement and in enforcement strategies."
The population of unauthorized immigrants from Latin American countries other than Mexico has declined by 22 percent between 2007 and 2009, according to Pew.
The average inflow for the 2007-2009 period of all unauthorized immigrants was 300,000 compared to 550,000 from March 2005 to March 2007. In the first half of the decade, March 2000 to March 2005, the average annual inflow was 850,000.
The result has been an eight percent reduction in the number of unauthorized immigrants currently living in the U.S., from a peak of 12 million in March 2007 to 11.1 million in March 2009, Pew said.
However, Pew noted that current number was still significantly larger than in 2000 when it was 8.4 million.
There has also been a drop or leveling-off in the number of unauthorized immigrants who have been the biggest focus of the current immigration debate -- those coming from Mexico and Latin American countries.
Pew said that the unauthorized Mexico population in the U.S. which accounts for roughly 60 percent of all illegals, peaked in 2007 has since leveled off. The number of those illegal immigrants from Mexico newly arriving in the U.S. dropped to an average of 150,000 annually compared to an average of 500,000 a year between 2000 and 2005.
However, with 6.7 million unauthorized Mexican immigrants still in the country, Pew said there is "no evidence of a recent increase in the number of Mexican-born migrants returning home from the U.S." despite "major shifts in the level of immigration enforcement and in enforcement strategies."
The population of unauthorized immigrants from Latin American countries other than Mexico has declined by 22 percent between 2007 and 2009, according to Pew.