6 states lead U.S. with most unauthorized immigrants: Pew
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California and Texas are among the six states where the majority of the nation's record 14 million unauthorized immigrants live, though more are moving to other states, a new Pew study finds.
The big picture: The states have consistently had the most unauthorized immigrants since at least 1980, but they are no longer the only draw as unauthorized immigrants have moved to other states amid economic transformation and new networks.
Why it matters: The report highlights the historic rise in unauthorized immigrants during President Biden's first two years in office, fueling the backlash that helped Donald Trump's return to the White House as Latinos in South Texas began moving to the GOP.
- Polls showed that Latinos who said they support building a border wall and deporting all undocumented immigrants jumped by at least 10 points since 2021, after the significant increase in unauthorized immigrants began.
By the numbers: California, Texas, Florida, New York, New Jersey and Illinois were home to nearly 8 million unauthorized immigrants in 2023, according to Pew Research Center estimates released Thursday.
- That's 56% of the total unauthorized immigrant population in the U.S, compared to 80% in 1990.
- The latest tally found that California led the nation with 2.3 million unauthorized immigrants, followed by Texas with 2.1 million — only a 200,000-person difference.
- That's a dramatic shift from 2017, when California had 1.2 million more.
State of play: The U.S. unauthorized immigrant population is far less concentrated than in the past, growing in 32 states from 2021 to 2023, Pew found.
- The population shifts happened as worker shortages and growth continue in industries like construction, agriculture and oil and gas.
Zoom in: Florida saw around 700,000 unauthorized immigrants during that two-year span, followed by Texas, with 450,000 more.
- Unauthorized immigrant populations grew by 75,000 or more in eight states — New Jersey, Illinois, Georgia, North Carolina, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Ohio.
- An Axios analysis found that Florida had the highest percentage of unauthorized immigrants among its total population, with 7.1%.
- Nevada was second with 6.9%, followed by Texas (6.7%) and New Jersey (6.5%).
Zoom out: The number of unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. rose to a record 14 million in 2023, sparked by migration from countries other than Mexico, the Pew analysis said.
- The increase was also driven by two consecutive years of record growth, according to the report.
- Economic and political upheaval in Africa, Asia, and Latin America — and the perception that President Biden's lifting of immigration barriers would make it easy to enter the U.S. — helped drive unprecedented migration, analysts say.
Go deeper: Illegal border crossings hit decades low under Trump crackdown
