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 News Around the Republic of Mexico | March 2005 
Spurred by Arrival of Unauthorized Mexicans, U.S. Undocumented Immigrant Population Surges
 Genaro C. Armas - Associated Press
| The report considered "undocumented" immigrants primarily as those here illegally; those in the United States on expired visas; or those who violated the terms of their admission in other ways.
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The United States' undocumented immigrant population surged to 10.3 million last year, spurred largely since 2000 by the arrivals of unauthorized Mexicans in the United States, a report being released Monday says.
The population of undocumented residents in the United States increased by about 23 percent from 8.4 million in the four-year period ending last March, according to the analysis of government data by the Pew Hispanic Center, a private research group.
That equates to a net increase of roughly 485,000 per year between 2000 and 2004. The estimate was derived by subtracting the number of unauthorized immigrants who leave the United States, die or acquire legal status from the number of new undocumented immigrants that arrive each year.
The prospect of better job opportunities in the United States than in their native countries remains a powerful lure for many immigrants, said Pew center director Roberto Suro, pointing to a reason often cited by other researchers.
"The border has been the focus of federal efforts (to cut illegal entry) and has not produced a reduction in flow. Certainly that's an indication of ongoing demand," he said.
The population is growing at a similar pace as in the late 1990s even though the U.S. economy today isn't as robust, Suro said.
Assuming the flow of undocumented immigrants into the country hasn't abated since March 2004, the population is likely near 11 million now.
The report considered "undocumented" immigrants primarily as those here illegally; those in the United States on expired visas; or those who violated the terms of their admission in other ways.
Also included are a small percentage of immigrants who may have legal authorization to be in the United States, including those with temporary protected status and those applying to seek asylum.
Mexicans by far remain the largest group of undocumented migrants at 5.9 million, or about 57 percent of the March 2004 estimate. Some 2.5 million others, or 24 percent, are from other Latin American countries. |
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