Thread: Number of Illegal Immigrants Holding Steady at 11 Million .

Number of Illegal Immigrants Holding Steady at 11 Million

February 1, 2011

By MIRIAM JORDAN
The number of illegal immigrants in the U.S. stabilized at about 11 million last year after declining during the recession, according to a new estimate by the Pew Hispanic Center.

The nonpartisan research group reported that 11.2 million undocumented immigrants lived in the U.S. in March 2010, compared with 11.1 million a year earlier.

"That suggests the number of new unauthorized immigrants entering the country is balanced by those leaving," said Pew demographer Jeffrey Passel, lead author of the study. There is no evidence that illegal immigrants are quitting the U.S. in growing numbers, he added.

Border enforcement pressured many immigrants already in the U.S. to stay put rather than return to their country of origin, even temporarily. "You don't go home, unless you aren't planning to come back," said Gordon Hanson, an immigration economist at the University of California, San Diego.

Even as it stabilizes, the size of the illegal population is still a third bigger than its level in 2000 of 8.4 million, and three times larger than in 1990, when it stood at 3.5 million.

The number of illegal immigrants in the work force, eight million in March 2010, was slightly below the year-earlier figure of 8.4 million, according to the Pew analysis.

The period reviewed in the Pew study ends before the economic recovery, while still tepid, gained momentum late last year. Any uptick in housing construction is likely to benefit undocumented immigrants, who tend to be low-skilled workers.

Between 2000 and 2005, illegal immigrants were sneaking into the U.S. at a rate of 850,000 annually. That helped push the size of the undocumented population to a peak of 12 million in 2007. The influx shrank to about 300,000 in 2008, according to Pew, due to the economic downturn.

Following Arizona's lead last year, lawmakers from about a dozen states have said they planned to introduce bills in their state legislatures to crack down on illegal immigrants, whom they regard as burdening state coffers and creating unfair competition for jobs.

But passage of such proposals in cash-strapped states is uncertain, given the likelihood that they would attract costly lawsuits. Key provisions of Arizona's law were frozen by a judge last year, and the state is battling the federal government in court.

At 11 million, undocumented immigrants account for 28% of the foreign-born population in the U.S. and 4% of the total U.S. population.

Children born to at least one illegal parent accounted for 8% of all births in the country between March 2009 and March 2010, according to the Pew analysis.

Pew's estimates are based on analysis of data from the Census Bureau and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

http://online.wsj.com

Since the illegals are supposed to be hidden in the shadows, how does our goverment come up with such low numbers? Deception?
I am guessing that the number should be closer to 60 million by what we're seeing in our cities and schools. You can't go anywhere without encountering dozens of Spanish speakers every day.

I certainly don't agree with the number, I would double that at the very least.

The government has been using the 11-12 million number since 2007 which was based on a 2006 study. They don't want the information to look bigger then it *might* really be right? Of course we all know its far bigger then that to begin with.

Assume 12 million in 2006 per the study the feds use. Add in the 1.2 million illegals in 2006 estimated and 1.4 million a year since. Thats +6 million. Add in 350k children born a year which yes WE count also thats another 1.5 million. Of course they never counted the false citizenship children from prior also. Easy to figure HOW exactly realistic reports suggest numbers of 18 million or more in 2010+.