Slight Increase in U.S. Unauthorized Immigrant Population

The Migration Policy Institute (MPI) has released its latest estimates of the size of the unauthorized immigrant population in the United States, estimating the number at 11.3 million in mid-2022. That figure is up from 11.2 million in 2021 and 11.0 million in 2019.

After Mexico, the top countries of origin of the unauthorized population as of 2022 ranged from those in nearby northern Central America; to South American countries of Venezuela, Colombia, and Brazil; as well as farther-away countries such as India, the Philippines, and China.

Although Mexico continued to be the top origin country, accounting for 45 percent of the unauthorized population in 2022 as compared to 64 percent in 2007, the MPI estimates illustrate the shifts in migration patterns that continued to reshape the nationality makeup of the population in 2022. Net increases in the unauthorized immigrant population from South America outpaced those from Guatemala and Honduras, both traditional countries of origin with repatriation agreements that make their nationals more likely to be removed by the U.S. authorities.

KJ