The number of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. is at the level it was in 2004. Mexican nationals aren’t the majority of the undocumented immigrant population in New Jersey and other states; many undocumented immigrants come from Central America and Asia.
The size of the undocumented immigration population
The size of the undocumented immigrant population in the U.S. was estimated to be 10.5 million in 2017, which was 3.2% of the U.S. population. This number was a 14% drop from the 12.2 million undocumented immigrants in 2007. During 2007, the undocumented immigrant population was 4% of the U.S. population.
Decline of Mexican immigrants
Immigration law tends to focus on the southern border, but foreign nationals entering the U.S. from Mexico have declined since 2007, and immigrants from other nations have increased. In 2017, for the first time, Mexicans made up less than half of the undocumented immigrants with 47%. In 2007, Mexicans were estimated to make up 57% of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. The undocumented immigrant population from other nations increased from 5.3 million in 2007 to 5.5 million in 2017.
Undocumented immigrants in the workforce
The U.S. civilian workforce had 7.6 million undocumented immigrants in 2017. It’s estimated that undocumented immigrants in the U.S. workforce fell by 625,000 between 2007 and 2017. In 2017, 4.6% of undocumented immigrants were working or looking for work.
Individual state immigrant trends
Every state has its trends with undocumented immigration. According to immigration law studies, six states account for 57% of the undocumented immigrant population in the U.S. The six states with the most undocumented immigrants are California, Texas, Florida, New York, New Jersey and Illinois. Between 2007 and 2017, California, Florida, Illinois and New Jersey were among the 12 states that saw a decrease in undocumented immigrants. Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Dakota and North Dakota saw an increase in undocumented immigrants.
While the U.S. is seeing decreasing trends in undocumented immigrants entering the country, more of them have been in the U.S. for over a decade. In 2017, 66% of undocumented immigrant adults were in the U.S. for over a decade. In 2007, only 41% of undocumented immigrant adults were in the U.S. for that long. This indicates that fewer undocumented immigrants are coming into the U.S., but more are staying.