The Pew Research Center has found that Indians make up the third largest group of unauthorised immigrants in the US, totalling about 725,000.
This puts them ahead of Mexico and El Salvador. The study shows that the 10.5 million unauthorised immigrants in the US represent about three per cent of the total population and 22 per cent of the foreign-born population.
US Customs and Border Protection data shows a significant influx of undocumented Indian immigrants, with 6,917 encounters between October 2022 and September 2023.
The number spiked after COVID-19 border restrictions were relaxed, reaching 63,927 in fiscal year 2022, with 97,000 encounters this year.
“The total number of unauthorised immigrants in the US from countries other than Mexico has grown rapidly. In 2021, this population was 6.4 million, an increase of 900,000 from 2017,” the study said.
“Almost every region of the world had a notable increase in the number of unauthorised immigrants in the US from 2007 to 2021. The largest increases were from Central America (240,000) and South and East Asia (180,000),” it adds.
Which states have the highest numbers?
Notably, California, Texas, Florida, New York, New Jersey and Illinois have the highest concentrations of unauthorised immigrants, while only Florida and Washington have seen an increase in their unauthorised immigrant populations. Conversely, California and Nevada saw declines.
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“Meanwhile, the legal immigrant population grew by more than 8 million, an increase of 29%, and the number of naturalised US citizens increased by 49%. By 2021, naturalised citizens will account for about half (49%) of all immigrants in the country,” the study says.
