On Tuesday, the Pew Hispanic Center released new findings detailing the population size of undocumented immigrants nationally and by state that shows a downward trend.
The report includes updated estimates for the undocumented immigrant work force, including their countries of origin. The estimates produced in this report are based on data collected from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey, in conjunction with the Center’s analysis of the demographic characteristics of the undocumented immigrant population.
Some notable findings point out that the two-year decline between 2007 to 2009 in the number of undocumented immigrants living in the United States remained unchanged. As of March 2010, undocumented immigrants make up 3.7% of the country’s total population.
Interestingly, three states, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas, did not follow the national trend. The combined undocumented immigrant population in these states grew from 2007 to 2010.
The number of undocumented immigrants in the nation’s workforce, 8 million in March 2010, also did not differ from the Center’s estimates for 2009.
Other interesting findings include the number of children born to at least one undocumented parent in 2009, was 350,000, also nearly unchanged from the previous year.
Jeffrey S. Passel, one of the studies authors and senior demographer for the Pew Hispanic Center, told CNN, “We saw a large drop (from 2007), but it doesn’t look like that drop is continuing.”
The report does not attempt to quantify the reasons for the downward trend in the last few years, but it states there are many reasons that could explain it, including the recession and increased efforts to curtail unauthorized immigration.
“The period covered by this analysis also has been accompanied by changes in the level of immigration enforcement and in enforcement strategies, not only by the federal government but also at state and local levels,” the report states.
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