Undocumented Numbers

Accurately estimating the undocumented population of the United States is no easy task. Just last week, Kevin noted that Pew Research came out with a new estimate of 14 million undocumented individuals living in the US in 2023 (a new high).

That figure is particularly interesting in light of DHS Secretary Noem’s August 14 press release, where she announced that 1.6 million undocumented individuals self-deported from the United States during the first 200 days of the second Trump presidency. According to Noem, the undocumented population had been 15.8 million and has dropped to 14.2 million. In support, she cited figures from the conservative immigration think tank CIS which released a relevant report on August 12.

Today, CIS released a new post talking about DHS’ use of its research. The blogger, not one of the authors of the August 12 report, points out that the August 12 CIS report relies on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) household survey called the Current Population Survey (CPS) and both “(1) included any number of caveats; and (2) cited to their sources.” Today’s post concludes that: 

(1) not every alien — let alone those who come illegally — remains forever; (2) most aliens come illegally to work and stop working only when they either can’t work or leave; and (3) enforcement works.

-KitJ