For the first time in nearly two decades, the number of illegal immigrants coming into the United States is dropping. In a study based on analysis of 2009 census data, the Pew Hispanic Center Report notes that there has been an 8% drop in the number of illegal immigrants living in the U.S. the past year, according to Business Week.

The study credits much of the decline to a sizeable drop in the number of immigrants coming from the Caribbean, South America, and Central America. Although the cause of the decline is the likely combination of a slow economy and an increase in federal immigration enforcement, the data does not lend itself to an easy read as far as how heavily each factor plays in the decline. Illegal immigrants represented 5% of the U.S. labor force last year with California, Nevada, Texas, and Arizona housing the bulk of the illegal immigrant population.

The land of opportunity has seen a decline in opportunities for both their citizens and for the illegal immigrants that come to the U.S. to live the American dream. The Pew study also found unemployment rates for illegal immigrants to be 10.4% higher than legal immigrants. On a final note, the study looked only at the decline in arrivals, not whether illegal immigrants already in the U.S. were departing at a similar rate.

Related Resources:

  • Illegal Immigration to the U.S. Slows Sharply (Wall Street Journal)
  • Immigration Government Agencies (FindLaw)
  • Illegal Immigration, Sovereignty, and Citizenship (FindLaw’s Writ)
  • Immigration Law - Government Agencies and Their Duties (provided by Law Offices of Matthew H. Green)

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