Pew Hispanic Center Fact Sheet on Undocumented Immigrants in the U.S. for Less than Five Years

In order to better understand the impact of some proposals before Congress, the Pew Hispanic Center is releasing a fact sheet today that examines the labor force status of unauthorized workers who have been in the country for five years or less. These short-term illegal migrants would not be eligible for a legalization program under some proposals. Estimates based on the March 2005 Current Population Survey show that 2.5 million unauthorized workers arrived in the country between 2000 and 2005, accounting for just under 2% of the U.S. labor force. More than half of them are employed in construction and service occupations where they make up a larger share of the labor force. For example, short-term unauthorized workers make up about 10% of all persons employed in food preparation and service. This fact sheet provides estimates of the number of short-term unauthorized workers by industry and occupation as well as their weekly earnings and unemployment rate. The fact sheet can be accessed at by clicking here.

KJ