ImmigrationIllegal immigration to the U.S. dropped sharply since 2007
Between March 2000 and March 2005, 850,000 illegal immigrants entered the United States annually; between March 2007 and March 2009, the number dropped to 300,000 annually; the flow of Mexicans, who represent 60 percent of all illegal immigrants in the United States, plummeted to 150,000 annually during the 2007-9 period, compared with the annual average of 500,000 during the 2000-5 period; experts say that the slowing economy and bleak job market for low-skill workers, not tighter border security, have played the biggest role in the drop in illegal entrants
Less work means fewer illegal immigrants // Source: orlandosentinel.com
Illegal immigration to the United States has slowed sharply since 2007, with the bleak U.S. job market apparently discouraging people from heading north. The influx of illegal immigrants plunged to an estimated 300,000 annually between March 2007 and 2009, from 850,000 a year between March 2000 and March 2005, according to new study released Wednesday by the Pew Hispanic Center, a nonpartisan research group (see Jeffrey Passel and D’Vera Cohn, “U.S. Unauthorized Immigration Flows Are Down Sharply Since Mid-Decade”).
The decline led to a contraction in the overall size of the undocumented population to 11 million people in March 2009 from a peak of 12 million two years earlier, according to the Pew analysis, which is based on data from the Census Bureau.
All told, illegal immigrants in 2009 represented 28 percent of the foreign-born population in the United States. Nearly half of them arrived since 2000, according to Pew.
The Wall Street Journal’s Miriam Jordan writes that the latest findings come as the first of hundreds of national guards began arriving in Arizona this week following authorization from the Obama administration. DHS secretary Janet Napolitano announced Monday that the number of drones flying surveillance on the southern border would double by 1 January. The increased security has driven up the cost of border crossings, contributing to the drop in illegal entries.
The Pew study found the flow of Mexicans, who represent 60 percent of all illegal immigrants in the United States, plummeted to 150,000 annually during the 2007-9 period, compared with the annual average of 500,000 during the first half of the decade. “Not only do we see flows down; it’s a steady downward trend in the last four years,” said the lead study author, Pew demographer Jeffrey Passel.
Passel, who previously worked at the Census Bureau, said the methodology he developed for calculating the illegal immigrant population is now used by DHS. He arrived at his estimates using data on the foreign-born population in the Census’s Current Population Survey and statistics from DHS on the number of legal immigrants admitted to the country.
The mortgage crisis and ensuing economic slump have slashed jobs in construction, tourism, and other sectors that are the mainstay for low-skilled Latin Americans. Immigrants already in the United States are struggling, and word of their hardship is dissuading those back home from flocking to the United States.
Jordan notes that the decrease in the flow of illegal immigrants reported by
