Crossing the Border

The number of undocumented immigrants has declined during the past decade, and Barack Obama has deported more people than any other President in U.S. history. You wouldn’t guess either fact from the 2016 campaign trail, where Donald Trump elevated concerns of an immigration crisis and Hillary Clinton courts Hispanic voters in battleground states. Trump has pledged to build a wall across a portion of the 2,000-mile border with Mexico, and Clinton has promised to push immigration reform in her first 100 days, with a path to citizenship for those in the country without authorization. Neither plan is likely to pass Congress next year.

[The following text appears within 9 charts. Please see a hardcopy for actual charts.]

1. COMING

There are 11.1 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S., down from a peak of 12.2 million in 2007. The drop is due in part to fewer job opportunities during the recession and tighter border control.

TOTAL FOREIGN-BORN POPULATION: 43.6 MILLION

Undocumented immigrants 25.5%

Temporary lawful residents 4%

Lawful permanent residents 26.9%

Naturalized citizens 43.6%

HOW UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS GOT TO THE U.S.:

40%–50% On temporary visas or fraudulent documents

50% Illegal border crossings

[The following text appears within a map. Please see hardcopy or PDF for actual map.]

UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS WHO ENTERED THE U.S. EACH YEAR:

300,000–400,000 UNDER BARACK OBAMA

500,000–600,000 UNDER GEORGE W. BUSH

COUNTRIES OF BIRTH:

48% of Mexican immigrants, about 5.85 million, are unauthorized

MEXICO 5,850,000

GUATEMALA 525,000

EL SALVADOR 700,000

HONDURAS 350,000

COLOMBIA 130,000

ECUADOR 130,000

INDIA 500,000

CHINA 325,000

SOUTH KOREA 160,000

PHILIPPINES 180,000

2. GOING

Each year, about 500,000 undocumented immigrants return home on their own, get permanent residence, are deported or die.

27 YEARS

Time it would take at the current rate to deport all undocumented immigrants in the U.S. today

2M

1.5M

1M

0.5M

0

1996

1998

2000

2002

2004

2006

2008

2010

2012

2014

Border apprehensions dropped after 9/11 and after the 2007 recession, as fewer people tried to cross into the U.S.

DEPORTATIONS

TURNED AWAY

Canadians and Mexicans who were sent back to their home country at the border

REMOVED

Immigrants deported from the U.S., as well as non-Canadians and non-Mexicans apprehended at the border

UNDOCUMENTED CRIMINALS

Since Obama took office in 2009, the U.S. has focused enforcement resources on deporting convicted criminals.

255,000 non-criminals

2008

105,000 criminals

247,000 non-criminals

2014

168,000 criminals

[The following text appears within a map. Please see hardcopy or PDF for actual map.]

3. STAYING

Half of undocumented immigrants have been in the U.S. for at least 13 years. That’s up from eight years in 2003. As a result of longer stays, there is a greater chance they have children born in the U.S.

UNAUTHORIZED-IMMIGRANT SHARE OF POPULATION:

5.0% OR MORE

3.5% TO 4.9%

2.5% TO 3.4%

1.6% TO 2.4%

1.5% OR LESS

4.5 MILLION

Number of U.S.-born children in 2012 younger than 18 living with at least one undocumented-immigrant parent; this population has doubled since 2000

WHERE UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS WORK:

13% Professional, management, business and finance

4% Farming, fishing and forestry

8% Transportation and material moving

14% Production, installation and repair

62% hold service, construction and production jobs, twice the share of U.S.-born workers

13% Sales, office and administrative support

33% Service

15% Construction and extraction

4. HISTORY

1924 Congress establishes U.S. Border Patrol and applies the first limits on the number of immigrants who can enter the country

Border-enforcement personnel have doubled since 2004, to 21,000

The annual Border Patrol budget has increased by 12% on average each year since 1990

$263M

$452M

$1.1B

$1.5B

$3.0B

$3.8B

1990

1995

2000

2005

2010

2015

Immigration and customs enforcement cost $6 billion a year, about 10% of the Homeland Security budget

In 2006, the Bush Administration signed the Secure Fence Act. Since then, the U.S. has invested billions of dollars at the southern border. Investments have included:

300 miles of vehicle fencing

353 miles of pedestrian fencing

Video surveillance systems

Seismic, magnetic and thermal detection sensors

Manned and unmanned aircraft

Trump supporters and Clinton supporters have contrasting views on which policies best address illegal immigration

SUPPORTERS WHO

… say immigration is a very big problem

66% Trump

17% CLINTON

… are in favor of building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border

FAVOR

OPPOSE

79%

TRUMP

18%

10%

CLINTON

88%

… want to prioritize stronger law enforcement and border security

78% TRUMP

19% CLINTON

… want to prioritize for undocumented immigrants a path to citizenship

80% CLINTON

19% TRUMP

SOURCES: DHS; PEW RESEARCH CENTER; CENTER FOR IMMIGRATION STUDIES; CRS; GAO