Pew Hispanic Center

Unauthorized Migrants Number 11.5-12 Million

March 7, 2006

There are currently 11.5 million to 12 million unauthorized migrants living in the United States, according to a new report from the Pew Hispanic Center.

The Center's estimates are based primarily on data from three official U.S. Census Bureau sources – Census 2000, the March 2005 Current Population Survey (CPS), and monthly Current Population Surveys conducted since then. After the March 2005 CPS report was released, the Center estimated that there were 11.1 million unauthorized in the United States as of a year ago. Based on the more recent monthly surveys and on other data sources that offer indications of the pace of growth in the foreign-born population, the Center has now developed an estimate of 11.5 to 12 million for the unauthorized population as of March 2006.

This report uses the term "unauthorized migrant" to mean a person who resides in the United States, but who is not a U.S. citizen, has not been admitted for permanent residence, and is not in a set of specific authorized temporary statuses permitting longer-term residence and work. Two groups account for the vast majority of this population: (a) those who entered the country without valid documents, including people crossing the Southwestern border clandestinely; and (b) those who entered with valid visas but overstayed their visas' expiration or otherwise violated the terms of their admission. Some migrants in this estimate have legal authorization to live and work in the United States on a temporary basis. These include migrants with temporary protected status (TPS) and some migrants with unresolved asylum claims. Together they may account for as much as 10 percent of the estimate.

Read the full report at pewhispanic.org