Demographics of Immigrants in the US Illegally: Countries of Origin, States of Residence, and Employment Data, 2000-2008 - Illegal Immigration

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Demographics of Immigrants in the US Illegally: Countries of Origin, States of Residence, and Employment Data, 2000-2008

I.	Introduction
II.	Population of Immigrants in the United States Illegally: Countries of Origin, 2000-2008
III.	Population of Immigrants in the United States Illegally: States of Residence in the United States, 2000-2008
IV.	Distribution of Immigrant Workers in the United States Illegally Compared to US-born Workers by Major Occupation Group, 2008

I. Introduction

Immigrant march in Los Angeles, CA, Aug. 25, 2007

Who are the immigrants in the United States illegally? Where do they come from and where do they settle in the United States? After entry, what socio-economic roles do they play in the US economy?

As of 2008, the population of immigrants in the United States illegally is estimated to be approximately 11.6 million. 61% of the immigrants in the country illegally are from Mexico, and 25% of all immigrant workers in the country illegally reside in California. Immigrants in the country illegally, as of 2008, represent 5% of the total civilian labor force in the United States. 51% of these immigrants, compared to 21% of native workers, hold occupations in the service (30%) and construction (21%) industries. The following charts and tables delineate the demographic and socio-economic background of immigrants in the United States illegally.

II. Population of Immigrants in the United States Illegally: Countries of Origin, 2000-2008

Top 10 Countries of Origin and Percent Change, 2000-2008

2000*	Population	2005	Population	2006	Population	2008	Population	% change from 2000**
All Countries	8,460,000	All Countries	10,500,000	All Countries	11,500,000	All Countries	11,600,000	37%
1. Mexico	4,680,000	Mexico	5,970,000	Mexico	6,570,000	Mexico	7,030,000	50%
2. El Salvador	430,000	El Salvador	470,000	El Salvador	510,000	El Salvador	570,000	33%
3. Guatemala	290,000	Guatemala	370,000	Guatemala	430,000	Guatemala	430,000	48%
4. Philippines	200,000	India	280,000	Philippines	280,000	Philippines	300,000	50%
5. China	190,000	China	230,000	Honduras	280,000	Honduras	300,000	88%
6. Korea	180,000	Philippines	210,000	India	270,000	Korea	240,000	33%
7. Honduras	160,000	Korea	210,000	Korea	250,000	China	220,000	16%
8. India	120,000	Honduras	180,000	Brazil	210,000	Brazil	180,000	80%
9. Ecuador	110,000	Brazil	170,000	China	190,000	Ecuador	170,000	55%
10. Brazil	100,000	Vietnam	160,000	Vietnam	160,000	India	160,000	33%

Sources and notes:

Sources for Population of Immigrants in the United States Illegally: Countries of origin, 2000-2008 from the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS):

1. "Estimates of the Unauthorized Immigrant Population Residing in the United States: January 2008" (PDF) 226KB Feb. 2009

2. "Estimates of the Unauthorized Immigrant Population Residing in the United States: January 2006" (PDF) 577KB Aug. 2007

3. "Estimates of the Unauthorized Immigrant Population Residing in the United States: January 2005" (PDF) 221KB Aug. 2006

Supplemental documents of unauthorized immigrant populations from 1990-2000, released by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS):

4. "Estimates of the Unauthorized Immigrant Population Residing in the United States: 1990-2000" (PDF) 473KB Jan. 2003

5. "Illegal Alien Resident Population" (PDF) 24KB Updated Dec. 2001

Notes:

*Countries listed under 2000 were not necessarily the top ten of that year. Countries for 2000 are listed to compare the population change between 2000, 2005, 2006, and 2008.

**The population change between 2000 and 2008 is represented in the "% change from 2000" column. The data in that column reflect the percentage of change in population from 2000 and 2008 of each country (not the percentage of population change between countries ranked in the same positions of the chart).

III. Population of Immigrants in the United States Illegally: States of Residence in the United States, 2000-2008

Top 10 States of Residence and Percent Change, 2000-2008

2000*	Population	2005	Population	2006	Population	2008	Population	% change from 2000
All States	8,460,000	All States	10,500,000	All States	11,550,000	All States	11,600,000	37%
1. California	2,510,000	California	2,770,000	California	2,830,000	California	2,850,000	14%
2. Texas	1,090,000	Texas	1,360,000	Texas	1.64 M	Texas	1.68 M	54%
3. Florida	800,000	Florida	850,000	Florida	980,000	Florida	840,000	5%
4. New York	540,000	New York	560,000	Illinois	550,000	New York	640,000	19%
5. Illinois	440,000	Illinois	520,000	New York	540,000	Arizona	560,000	70%
6. New Jersey	350,000	New Jersey	480,000	Arizona	500,000	Illinois	550,000	25%
7. Arizona	330,000	Arizona	470,000	Georgia	490,000	Georgia	460,000	109%
8. North Carolina	260,000	North Carolina	380,000	New Jersey	430,000	New Jersey	400,000	14%
9. Georgia	220,000	Georgia	360,000	North Carolina	370,000	North Carolina	380,000	46%
10. Nevada	170,000	Nevada	240,000	Washington	280,000	Nevada	280,000	65%
40 other states	1,750,000	40 other states	2,510,000	40 other states	2,950,000	40 other states	2,950,000	69%

Sources and notes:

Sources for Population of Immigrants in the United States Illegally: States of residence in the United States, 2000-2008 from the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS):

1. "Estimates of the Unauthorized Immigrant Population Residing in the United States: January 2008" (PDF) 226KB Feb. 2009

2. "Estimates of the Unauthorized Immigrant Population Residing in the United States: January 2006" (PDF) 577KB Aug. 2007

3. "Estimates of the Unauthorized Immigrant Population Residing in the United States: January 2005" (PDF) 221KB Aug. 2006

Supplemental documents of unauthorized immigrant populations from 1990-2000, released by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS):

4. "Estimates of the Unauthorized Immigrant Population Residing in the United States: 1990-2000" (PDF) 473KB Jan. 2003

5. "Illegal Alien Resident Population" (PDF) 24KB Updated Dec. 2001

Notes:

*States listed under 2000 were not necessarily the top ten of that year. States for 2000 are listed to compare the population change between 2000, 2005, 2006, and 2008.

IV. Distribution of Immigrant Workers in the United States Illegally Compared to US born Workers by Major Occupation Group, 2008

Top 20 Occupations with High Shares of Immigrants in the United States Illegally, 2008

Top 20 Occupations*	% of Immigrants in the US Illegally in Total Work Force	# of Immigrant Workers in the US Illegally	Total # of All Workers
			Total # of All Workers
1. Brickmasons, blockmasons and stonemasons	40%	131,000	325,000
2. Drywall installers, ceiling tile installers and tapers	37%	94,000	255,000
3. Roofers	31%	76,000	246,000
4. Miscellaneous agricultural workers	30%	269,000	910,000
5. Helpers, construction trades	28%	52,000	184,000
6. Dishwashers	28%	101,000	364,000
7. Construction laborers	27%	556,000	2,055,000
8. Maids and housekeeping cleaners	27%	417,000	1,555,000
9. Cement masons, concrete finishers and terazzo workers	27%	29,000	109,000
10. Packaging and filling machine operators and tenders	26%	96,000	369,000
11. Grounds maintenance workers	25%	356,000	1,413,000
12. Packers and packagers, hand	24%	119,000	504,000
13. Butchers, poultry and fish processing workers	23%	71,000	305,000
14. Carpet, floor, and tile installlers and finishers	22%	68,000	306,000
15. Painters, constuction and maintenance	22%	173,000	791,000
16. Parking lot attendants	21%	21,000	100,000
17. Chefs and head cooks	20%	75,000	377,000
18. Sewing machine operators	20%	49,000	248,000
19. Refuse and recyclable material collectors	19%	22,000	112,000
20. Cooks	19%	427,000	2,219,000
Other "unauthorized" occupations**	9%	3,120,000	34,979,000
All other occupations	2%	1,928,000	106,407,000
Total, Civilian Labor Force (with an occupation)	5%	8,258,000	154,135,000

Sources and notes:

Sources:

1. Apr. 14, 2009, D'Vera Cohn and Jeffrey S. Passel
"Pew Hispanic Center Research Report: A Portrait of Unauthorized Immigrants in the United States" (PDF) 1.82MB

2. Mar. 7, 2006, Jeffrey S. Passel
"Pew Hispanic Center Research Report: The Size and Characteristics of the Unauthorized Migrant Population in the U.S.: Estimates Based on the March 2005 Current Population Survey" (PDF) 141KB

Notes:

*Occupations included in the Top 20 Occupations with High Shares of Immigrants in the United States Illegally table have at least 100,000 workers nationally and more than three times the national share of unauthorized immigrant workers.

**"Unauthorized" occupations have a higher percentage of workers who are unauthorized immigrants than the national average but do not qualify for a separate listing.

According to the Congress of the United States Congressional Budget Office's Nov. 2005 report "The Role of Immigrants in the U.S. Labor Market":

"Considerable uncertainty is inherent in estimates of the number of unauthorized immigrants that reside in the United States and the number that are in the labor force. The decennial census, the Current Population Survey (CPS), and similar sources of information about the population and labor force do not ask foreign-born people about their legal status in the United States aside from whether they are naturalized citizens. Thus, the number of unauthorized immigrants must be estimated by indirect methods that introduce the possibility of significant errors. A recent analysis, based on survey data from the CPS and administrative data from the Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies, indicated that in early 2004 about 10 million foreign-born people were living in the United States without authorization and about 6.3 million of them were in the labor force."
Congress of the United States Congressional Budget Office: "The Role of Immigrants in the U.S. Labor Market" (PDF) 350KB