Illegal immigrant population soars to 11.6 million

Paul Bedard
Washington Examiner
June 1, 2022

President Joe Biden’s open borders policies have led to a more than 10% surge in the United States's illegal immigrant population, according to a new review of federal data.

Numbers reviewed by the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that the illegal population grew from 10.2 million when Biden took office to 11.6 million in April.

“This means that illegal immigrants accounted for some 1.35 million (about two-thirds) of the two million growth in the total foreign-born population since President Biden took office,” according to the analysis from the Center for Immigration Studies.

As a result, the foreign-born population in the nation, which includes legal and illegal immigrants, is 47 million, or 14.3% of the total population, the highest in 112 years.

 

Without taking action to stop illegal crossings, more illegal immigrants are expected to pour over the border, raising the foreign-born population to a record level by Election Day, the analysis said.

“As a share of the total population, the foreign-born now account for 14.3% of the U.S. population — the highest percentage in 112 years. If present trends continue, the foreign-born share of the population will surpass the all-time high in American history by September of next year,” according to the report written by Steven A. Camarota and Karen Zeigler.

“Immigration is sometimes seen as like the weather — something outside the control of public policy," the report added. "In fact, it must be understood that the level of legal immigration as well as policies and resources directed at controlling illegal immigration all represent policy choices. The dramatic growth in the foreign-born population in the last 16 months are the direct result of those choices."

The center advocates strict immigration controls, warning that boosting the foreign, and especially illegal, population is costly to taxpayers.