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DHS: Undocumented Population in U.S. Has Decreased |
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Written by Jordana Hart
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Tuesday, 16 February 2010 |
A new report of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) finds that the number of undocumented immigrants has fallen from a high of 11.8 million in 2007 to 10.8 million a year later.
The report states that "the number of unauthorized immigrants living in the United States decreased seven percent from 11.6 million to 10.8 million. Between 2000 and 2007, the unauthorized population grew by 3.3 million from 8.5 million to 11.8 million. The number of unauthorized residents declined by 1.0 million between 2007 and 2009, coincident with the U.S. economic downturn. The overall annual average increase in the unauthorized population during the 2000-2009 period was 250,000."
The estimated legally resident immigrant population as of January 1, 2009 is about 20.5 million, according to the report.
Mexico continues to be the leading source of undocumented immigrants, according to the DHS report. Some 62% or 6.7 million of the undocumented population in the U.S. comes from Mexico. The remaining top ten countries account for 22 percent of the undocumented population, while all other countries represent 15 percent.
California, Texas and Florida have the highest undocumented immigrant populations. However, California's undocumented population dropped 6 percent from 30 percent in 2000 to 24 percent in 2009. Meanwhile, both Texas and Georgia saw their populations increase during the same period, from 13 percent to 16 percent and three percent to four percent respectively.
The report, available at www.dhs.gov, provides further estimates of the number of undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. as of January 2009 by period of entry, region and country of origin, state of residence, age and gender.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 16 February 2010 )
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