** Unauthorized Immigration To The United States (STAGGERING NUMBERS) **

Migration Policy Institute ^ | October 2003 | Elizabeth Grieco

[F16Fighter]

The size of the undocumented immigrant population in the United States is probably about 9 million people.

A report released by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service in January 2003 estimated the size of the undocumented immigrant population at 7.0 million in 2000. A separate analysis by Jeff Passel of the Urban Institute estimated there were 8.5 million undocumented immigrants in 2000. Passel and others believe that net illegal immigration from Mexico alone has been growing at a rate of 500,000 people annually, which places current estimates at a minimum of 9.0 million unauthorized immigrants.

In the 1990s, the undocumented immigrant population grew by 350,000 per year. According to the INS, from 1990 to 1999, the size of the undocumented immigrant population grew by about 350,000 people per year on average, and by as much as 500,000 people per year in the latter third of the decade.

The states with the largest unauthorized populations are California and Texas. INS estimates show the states that had the largest unauthorized immigrant populations in 2000 were California (2.2 million) and Texas (1.0 million), followed by New York (0.5 million), Illinois (0.4 million), and Florida (0.3 million). Texas became the second state after California to have over one million unauthorized residents.

Almost one-third of all undocumented immigrants live in California. According to the INS, of all undocumented immigrants in the United States in 2000, 32 percent lived in California, followed by Texas (15 percent), New York (7 percent), Illinois (6 percent), and Florida (5 percent). Combined, these five states accounted for 64 percent of all undocumented migrants.

The states with the largest numerical increases in their unauthorized populations in the 1990s were California, Texas, and Illinois, in that order.

INS data show that the states with the largest numerical increases in their unauthorized populations between 1990 and 2000 were California, Texas, Illinois, Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, and New York, in that order. Each of these states had increases of morethan 100,000 in the number of unauthorized residents between 1990 and 2000.

Georgia, North Carolina, and Colorado experienced rapid growth in their unauthorized immigrant populations between 1990 and 2000. Between 1990 and 2000, the unauthorized immigrant populations of several states grew rapidly, according to the US Immigration and Naturalization Service, including:

Georgia 571 percent (from 34,000 to 228,000)

North Carolina: 692 percent (from 26,000 to 206,000)

Colorado 365 percent (from 31,000 to 144,000)

Seven states that had 10,000 or fewer unauthorized immigrants in 1990 also experienced rapid growth through the decade:

Arkansas 440 percent (from 5,000 to 27,000)

South Carolina 414 percent (from 7,000 to 36,000)

Tennessee 411 percent (from 9,000 to 46,000)

Alabama 380 percent (from 5,000 to 24,000)

Iowa 380 percent (from 5,000 to 24,000)

Wisconsin 310 percent (from 10,000 to 41,000)

Nebraska 300 percent (from 6,000 to 24,000)

There is no evidence to suggest that this pattern has changed since 2000. The five countries of origin with the largest unauthorized immigrant populations are Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Colombia, and Honduras.

In 2000, the largest source country for unauthorized immigrants was Mexico (4.8 million), according to the INS. The unauthorized resident population from Mexico increased by 140 percent, from about 2.0 million in 1990 to 4.8 million in 2000, according to the INS. Unauthorized immigrants from Mexico represented 69 percent of the total unauthorized resident population in 2000. In 1990, unauthorized immigrants from Mexico represented 58 percent of the total.

Six other source countries were estimated to have over 100,000 unauthorized immigrants resident in the United States, including El Salvador (189,000), Guatemala (144,000), Colombia (141,000), Honduras (138,000), China (115,000), and Ecuador (108,000). There is no evidence to suggest that this pattern has changed since 2000.

This information was compiled by Elizabeth Grieco, MPI’s Data Manager, in October 2003. For questions or to arrange an interview with a data expert or policy analyst, please contact Colleen Coffey at 202-266-1910 or ccoffey@migrationpolicy.org. Please visit us at www.migrationpolicy.org.

[Ben Ficklin]

As the United Farm Workers told the Growers: "we will allow the visa numbers to rise when you allow us in to organize".

As Hoffa said: "we will allow the mexican drivers in when we are allowed to organize them".

I keep forgetting about all the unionists at FR.

I'm sorry that you misunderstood my statements about my father, myself, and my son. I don't work in chicken parts, I was merely illustrating that jobs disappear thru time. On the other hand, I have designed, sold and installed air handlers in chicken facilities a couple of times thru the years.

If one so desires, there are numerous oppurtunities at self improvement. This doesn't mean becoming a doctor or a lawyer.

[EagleMamaMT]

"I keep forgetting about all the unionists at FR."

If you've followed my posts any, you will see that I'm no unionist. As I said in another post, my family members, even though they are in the trades, aren't in the unions. Unions aren't the presence in this country any more that many on this forum try to make them out to be.

[janetgreen]

Yes, the world and the workforce has changed, but we're not talking about LEGAL American citizens and immigrants here.

The open borders bunch continues to try to blur the line between citizen and non-citizen. There's no reason in the world for an American worker to be pushed out of his or her job to accommodate an ILLEGAL ALIEN who shouldn't be here in the first place.

[Ben Ficklin]

"try to make them out to be"

I lost a nice chunk of money once when the union went out and wouldn't let me in.

BTW, you are the one who brought up the backlash of socialism.

[international american]

"open borders bunch continues to try to blur the line between citizen and non-citizen"

Try deliberately ignores the line.

[bayourod]

"And another thing - when are you actually going to tell me what you do for a living "

See my "about" page. I finally had to spell it put for those who can't fathom how anyone could possibly not dislike Hispanic laborers unless they were making a profit off of them.

The anti-business, anti-immigrant, anti-Bush crowd is a very small minority of America. The vast majority of Americans think that the idea of building an impenetrable wall around America to keep out laborers is as funny as Will Rogers' suggestion that the solution to German submarines was to heat the oceans up to 200 degrees.

[Dan Evans]

The US birthrate fell below 2.0 in 1971.

Not exactly a crises. There are European countries with numbers around 1.4. But in America, if the population starts to drop, the land will be bought by people who have higher birth rates.

Prior to that time it was dwindling. It stayed below 2.0 until 2001 when it inched back above. Did you know that there are more hispanics entering this country via the birth canal than crossing the border?

Is that a good thing? If we don't assimilate them, we will become another Mexico because they will vote for the same type of people they voted for in Mexico. They will change the culture of the Southwest to the culture of a corrupt South American country. That's not the kind of "boom" that is good for this America.

I suggest that it will be easier for us to assimilate fundamentalist Christians than immigrants from South America who really don't want to be assimilated.

[EagleMamaMT]

Exactly!

[Dan Evans]

This country could support 1 billion people fairly easily. And in order to compete successfully with India and China in the 21st century, we may have to.

It isn't the quantity of people that is important, it's the quality. That's why very small countries have been able to conquer others several times their size. Taiwan has been able to hold off China even though China is numerically superior. That's how the British were able to dominate the subcontinent of India.

[EagleMamaMT]

"BTW, you are the one who brought up the backlash of socialism."

Yes, I did - in the context of saying that displaced American workers may use their votes to put more socialistic political parties into power if "conservatives" persist in giving American workers the shaft.

If you don't think that's a possibility, then you don't understand much about human nature.

[spectre]

"The anti-business, anti-immigrant, anti-Bush crowd is a very small minority of America. "

Anti Bush? I think Bush is getting the message that he should revisit the ILLEGAL immigration issue.

And you are correct when you say a very small minority of America is "anti-immigrant".

Truth is, the majority of us are "anti ILLEGAL immigrants". But you know that, don't you?

sw

[Ben Ficklin]

More power to you. Have at it.

[azhenfud]

"Have at it."

I told the car wash attendant that when I took my wife's car to be cleaned.

He must have thought I said, "Half @$$ it."

[Dan Evans]

The vast majority of Americans think that the idea of building an impenetrable wall around America to keep out laborers is funny...

Americans lost their sense of humor on 9/11/01:

"• 65% of voters favor stopping all immigration into the U.S. during the war on terrorism. (Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll, October 31-November 1, 2001)"

"• 52% of all Americans favor a five-year ban on all legal and illegal immigration to the U.S., including 54% of all Republicans and 48% of all Democrats. (Wall St. Journal/NBC, March 1996)"

"• A Roper poll in January 1996 found that 83% of Americans favor a lower immigration level. 70% favor restricting immigration to less than 300,000 new immigrants a year (including 70% of Republicans, 73% of African-Americans, and 52% of Hispanics). Most want even larger cuts: 54% favor an immigration level of below 100,000 a year. 20% support no immigration at all."

factsheets

[chris1]

My experience is helping someone get citzenship the legal way tell me her utter disgust for her fellow south american bretheren who she told me mostly despite this country and everything about it. I will take the word from the horses mouth.

She told me that they don't want to assimilate, don't want to be on the books to pay taxes, and could care less about illegal border crossings.

Furthermore, she told me about how many ways they scam the social service "safety" net that we all pay for. Its a crime. Either they become legal the legal way with financial sponsors or they should be out immediately.

If they cannot find two financial sponsors, than they should be gone and none of us forced to pay for them, their kids educaotion, welfare, health benefits, reduced tuition, etc etc.

Finally, "not all cultures are equal" is the truth. Of course people will be offended, but can you honestly say that modern Islamic Culture or Third World culture is equal to western culture?

[Ben Ficklin]

LOL

[EagleMamaMT]

"See my "about" page. I finally had to spell it put for those who can't fathom how anyone could possibly not dislike Hispanic laborers unless they were making a profit off of them."

Well, from what I gathered from your profile page, after wading through all your usual talking-point claptrap, is that you're a paid political consultant. What a surprise. Anything to get a few votes - including advocating breaking immigration and labor laws. Who'd-a thunk it? Have you bright boys extrapolated how many votes your "illegal aliens at any cost" position is going to cost the GOP among Americans who don't believe in rewarding lawbreakers?

"The anti-business, anti-immigrant, anti-Bush crowd is a very small minority of America."

Yes it is. But the ANTI-ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION crowd is a rapidly expanding MAJORITY of Americans. Nice try at misrepresenting the issues. You're nothing if not consistent, I'll give you that.

[janetgreen]

Those numbers don't surprise me a bit. The only people I hear supporting illegal immigration, other than the open borders traitors in Washington, are the few here on Free Republic who agree with them.

[chris1]

I am American of Italian descent and so many people have a hard time when they ask me my heritage and I respond American. I have no affinity for Europoeans as this is my country, not Italy.

The same does not go for many of the newly arrived illegals who some claim want to be hear for good reasons. How many times have you heard the phrase "in my country"? As if they are coming here from paradise or something.

[EagleMamaMT]

"More power to you. Have at it."

Actually, I'm not going to worry about voting any more. If I vote for a Republican, I get a Democrat, so what's the use?