Overall Number of U.S. Unauthorized Immigrants Holds Steady Since 2009

Overall Number of U.S. Unauthorized Immigrants Holds Steady Since 2009. Pew Research Center. Jeffrey S. Passel and D’Vera Cohn. September 20, 2016.

The U.S. unauthorized immigrant population,11.1 million in 2014, has stabilized since the end of the Great Recession, as the number from Mexico declined but the total from other regions of the world increased, according to the estimates based on government data. Among world regions, the number of unauthorized immigrants from Asia, Central America and sub-Saharan Africa rose between 2009 and 2014. The number from Mexico has steadily declined since 2007, the first year of the Great Recession, but Mexicans remain more than half (52%) of U.S. unauthorized immigrants. [Note: contains opyrighted material].

[PDF format, 51 pages, 1.85 MB].

Interior Immigration Enforcement: Criminal Alien Programs

Interior Immigration Enforcement: Criminal Alien Programs. Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress. William A. Kandel. September 8, 2016.

Congress has long supported efforts to identify, detain, and remove criminal aliens, defined as noncitizens who have been convicted of crimes in the United States. The apprehension and expeditious removal of criminal aliens has been a statutory priority since 1986, and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and one of its predecessor agencies have operated programs targeting criminal aliens since 1988. Investments in DHS’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) interior enforcement programs since 2004 have increased the number of potentially removable aliens identified within the United States.

[PDF format, 28 pages, 846.84 KB].

The Cost of Welfare Use By Immigrant and Native Households

The Cost of Welfare Use By Immigrant and Native Households. Center for Immigration Studies. Jason Richwine. May 2016.

The study of immigration and welfare use, shows that 51 percent of immigrant-headed households (legal and illegal) use at least one federal welfare program, compared to 30 percent of native households. “Welfare” refers to means-tested anti-poverty programs. These include direct cash assistance in the form of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF); food aid such as free school lunch, the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) nutrition program, and food stamps; Medicaid; and housing assistance in the form of rent subsidies and public housing. Not included are social insurance programs for which participants must generally pay into the system before drawing benefits, such as Social Security and Medicare. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

[PDF format, 18 pages, 1.48 MB].

61 Million Immigrants and Their Young Children Now Live in the United States

61 Million Immigrants and Their Young Children Now Live in the United States. Center for Immigration Studies. Steven A. Camarota. March 2016.

A new analysis of government data from December 2015 indicates that more than 61 million immigrants and their American-born children under age 18 now live in the United States; roughly three-fourths (45.3 million) are legal immigrants and their children. While the national debate has focused on illegal immigration, the enormous impact of immigration is largely the result of those brought in legally. With some 45 million legal immigrants and their young children already here, should we continue to admit a million new legal permanent immigrants every year? [Note: contains copyrighted material].

[PDF format, 7 pages, 596.41 KB].

Welfare Use by Legal and Illegal Immigrant Households

Welfare Use by Legal and Illegal Immigrant Households. Center for Immigration Studies. Steven A. Camarota. September 2015.

The report separates legal and illegal immigrant households and estimates welfare use using the Census Bureau data. The analysis shows that legal immigrant households make extensive use of most welfare programs, while illegal immigrant households primarily benefit from food programs and Medicaid through their U.S.-born children. Low levels of education, not legal status, is the main reason immigrant welfare use is high. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

[PDF format, 17 pags, 1.32 MB].

An Analysis of Unauthorized Immigrants in the United States by Country and Region of Birth

An Analysis of Unauthorized Immigrants in the United States by Country and Region of Birth. Marc C. Rosenblum and Ariel G. Ruiz Soto. Migration Policy Institute. August 2015.

The report profiles the approximately 11 million unauthorized immigrants living in the United States, examining population growth trends over time by country or region of origin as well as geographic distribution by state and top county destinations. The report also assesses eligibility and application rates for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, analyzing differences in application rates by national origin. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

[PDF format, 31 pages, 2.36 MB].

Broad Public Support for Legal Status for Undocumented Immigrants

Broad Public Support for Legal Status for Undocumented Immigrants. Pew Research Center. June 4, 2015.

With immigration shaping up to be a major issue in both the final years of the Obama administration and the 2016 presidential campaign, most Americans (72%) continue to say undocumented immigrants currently living in the U.S. should be allowed to stay in the country legally, if certain requirements are met. These views have fluctuated only modestly over the past two years. As in prior surveys, a majority of those who favor granting legal status for people in the U.S. illegally – 42% of the public overall – say they should be able to apply for U.S. citizenship. About a quarter of the public (26%) say they should only be able to apply for permanent residency. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

[PDF format, 20 pages, 508.88 KB].

Barriers Along the U.S. Borders: Key Authorities and Requirements

Barriers Along the U.S. Borders: Key Authorities and Requirements. Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress. Michael John Garcia. April 8, 2015.

Securing the borders is an issue of perennial concern to Congress. Federal law authorizes the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to construct barriers along the U.S. borders to deter illegal crossings. DHS is also required to construct reinforced fencing along at least 700 miles of the land border with Mexico (a border that stretches 1,933 miles), though Congress has not provided a deadline for its completion. At this time, fence construction has largely been halted, though DHS still needs to deploy fencing along nearly 50 additional miles of the southwest border to satisfy the 700-mile requirement.

[PDF format, 45 pages, 527.05 KB].

Unaccompanied Child Migration to the United States: The Tension between Protection and Prevention

Unaccompanied Child Migration to the United States: The Tension between Protection and Prevention. Migration Policy Institute. Marc R. Rosenblum. April 2015.

Policymakers, the public, and the media were seemingly caught off-guard in spring 2014 when a surge of child migrants from Central America reached the U.S.-Mexico border in unprecedented numbers. Yet the uptick began in 2011. The report examines the causes of this surge and recommends policy solutions to advance both critical protection and enforcement goals in situations of complex, mixed flows. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

[HTML format with a link to the full-text PDF file].

Unaccompanied Alien Children: Demographics in Brief

Unaccompanied Alien Children: Demographics in Brief. Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress. Ruth Ellen Wasem and Austin Morris. September 24, 2014.

The number of children coming to the United States who are not accompanied by parents or legal guardians and who lack proper immigration documents has raised complex and competing sets of humanitarian concerns and immigration control issues. The report focuses on the demographics of unaccompanied alien children while they are in removal proceedings. Overwhelmingly, the children are coming from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. The median age of unaccompanied children has decreased from 17 years in FY2011 to 16 years during the first seven months of FY2014. A greater share of males than females are represented among this population. However, females have steadily increased in total numbers and as a percentage of the flow since FY2011. The median age of females has dropped from 17 years in FY2011–the year that was the median age across all groups of children–to 15 years in the first seven months of FY2014.

[PDF format, 13 pages, 307.04 KB].