In the continuing debate about what to do about immigration in this country... do we know what we're talking about?
The Office of Immigration Statistics (Dept. of Homeland Security) recently released a report on where illegal immigrants (they refer to them as "unauthorized immigrants") were to be found (by state) and where they came from.
Here's a quote containing some figures you would expect, and some surprises:
"Mexico was the leading source country for unauthorized immigration with nearly 6.0 million residents in the United States in 2005. El Salvador, Guatemala, India, and China were the next leading source countries, accounting for a combined total of nearly 1.4 million unauthorized immigrants. Among the 10 leading source countries, the annual average increase in the unauthorized population from 2000 to 2005 was greatest among Mexican immigrants (260,000). However, the greatest percentage increase in the unauthorized immigrant population from 2000 to 2005 occurred among immigrants from India (133 percent) and Brazil (70 percent)."
And here's a more detailed list of the estimated numbers, taken from Table 3 -- "Country of Birth of the Unauthorized Immigrant Population" (in thousands):
Country of birth Estimated population in January 2005 2000
all countries 10,500 8,460
Mexico 5,970 4,680
El Salvador 470 430
Guatemala 370 290
India 280 120
China 230 190
Korea 210 180
Philippines 210 200
Honduras 180 160
Brazil 170 100
Vietnam 160 160
other countries 2,250 1,750
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here's the citation and URL:
Hoefer, M., Rytina, N., and Campbell, C. (August, 2006). Estimates of the unauthorized immigrant population residing in the United States: January 2005. Population Estimates. Washington, D.C.: Office of Immigration Statistics, Department of Homeland Security.
http://www.uscis.gov/graphics/shared/statistics/publications/ILL_PE_2005.pdf