Last Updated: November 22, 2023, 15:44 IST
Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)
Migrants walk along the road in a caravan in an attempt to reach the US border, in Tapachula, Mexico. (Image: Reuters)
New Pew Research estimates reveal 725,000 Indian illegal immigrants in the US, constituting the third-largest unauthorized immigrant group
Some 725,000 Indian undocumented immigrants are in the United States, ranking as the third-largest unauthorised immigrant group, according to a Washington-based think tank.
In the year 2021, the US had 10.5 million unauthorised immigrants, accounting for around 3 percent of the total population and 22 percent of the foreign-born population, the Pew Research Center said.
The population of unauthorized immigrants from Mexico dropped by 900,000 from 2017 to 2021, to 4.1 million. Meanwhile, there were increases in unauthorized immigrants from nearly every other region of the world. Explore our full analysis: https://t.co/aSXtXGtnb5 pic.twitter.com/lJo4xHVaJW— Pew Research Center (@pewresearch) November 16, 2023
The number of unauthorized immigrants living in the US in 2021 remained below its peak of 12.2 million in 2007, according to the study authored by Jeffrey S. Passel and Jens Manuel Krogstad. It was about the same size as in 2004 and lower than every year from 2005 to 2015. Almost every region in the world had a notable increase in the number of unauthorised immigrants in the US from 2007 to 2021, with the largest increase from Central America (240,000) and South and East Asia (180,000).
While the number of unauthorised immigrants from Mexico living in the US — 4.1 million in 2021 — was the lowest since the 1990s, El Salvador — 800,000 — and India with 725,000 immigrants saw an increase in the numbers, the report said. Among countries with the largest numbers of US unauthorised immigrants, India, Brazil, Canada and former Soviet Union countries all experienced growth from 2017 to 2021, the report said.
The six states with the largest unauthorised immigrant populations in 2021 were: California (1.9 million), Texas (1.6 million), Florida (900,000), New York (600,000), New Jersey (450,000) and Illinois (400,000), the report said. In 2021, the population of unauthorised immigrants from other countries was 6.4 million, up by 900,000 from 2017, the report said. Other countries which accounted for most unauthorised immigrants were Guatemala (700,000) and Honduras (525,000).
The report said India, Guatemala and Honduras all saw increases from 2017 with the unauthorised immigrant population in the US reaching 10.5 million in 2021, according to new Pew Research Centre estimates. There were increases in unauthorised immigrants from nearly every other region of the world Central America, the Caribbean, South America, Asia, Europe and sub-Saharan Africa.
The lawful immigrant population meanwhile grew by more than 8 million, a 29 percent increase, and the number of naturalised US citizens grew by 49 percent. In 2021, naturalised citizens accounted for about half (49 percent) of all immigrants in the country, the report said. Notably, the new estimates do not reflect changes that have occurred since apprehensions and expulsions of migrants along the US-Mexico border started increasing in March 2021. Migrant encounters at the border have since reached historic highs, the report said.
(With agency inputs)
