The decline marks the first significant turnaround
in two decades, researchers with the nonpartisan Pew Hispanic Center
say. As a result, the U.S. illegal immigrant population may have fallen
as much as 8 percent from 2007 to 2009.
“We’ve seen a reversal in what had been the long-term growth in the illegal immigrant population,” researcher
An estimated 11 million illegal immigrants live in
Possibly because of tighter enforcement measures and economic
circumstances driving some immigrants back home, the total population
is down from its estimated 2007 peak of 12 million.
“Particularly along the southern border, enforcement
has ramped up considerably,” Passel said. “It’s harder and more
dangerous for immigrants to cross into the country.”
From 2007 to 2009, an estimated 300,000 illegal immigrants sneaked into
annually. This marks an improvement over the period from 2005 to 2007,
when an estimated 550,000 illegal immigrants entered annually.
Illegal immigrants remain concentrated in a relatively few states. An estimated 2.5 million live in
The researchers caution that their findings, which
are based on sampling, are subject to a margin of error, and warned of
the inherent uncertainties in tracking an illegal population.
Consequently, the overall illegal immigrant population estimates are
described as “not conclusive.”
Still, parts of the 37-page study track some other studies, including a
assessment that the number of illegal immigrants fell from 11.8 million
in 2007 to 10.8 million in 2009. The researchers used different
The Pew Hispanic Center study arrives at a time when
immigration has become a high-profile political issue, as state and
federal lawmakers debate immigration revisions and border security
measures. The Obama administration is challenging a new
“Our borders are just too vast for us to be able to solve the problem only with fences and border patrols,” President
hand with reforming our creaky system of legal immigration.”
———
(c) 2010, McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
Visit the
