Indians represent the third-largest group of undocumented immigrants in the United States, according to a recent study by the Pew Research Center. The study, conducted by the Washington-based think tank, estimates that over 725,000 Indians currently reside in the country illegally.
The United States experienced the highest influx of undocumented migrants from neighboring Mexico, followed by El Salvador (800,000) and India between 2017 and 2021. India witnessed a surge in the number of undocumented migrants since 2017.
In total, the undocumented immigrant population in the United States reached 10.5 million in 2021, remaining below the peak of 12.2 million in 2007, the study noted.
“There were increases in undocumented immigrants from nearly every other region of the world – Central America, the Caribbean, South America, Asia, Europe, and sub-Saharan Africa,” the researchers observed.
Other countries contributing undocumented migrants to the US include Venezuela, Brazil, Canada, former Soviet Union countries, China, and the Dominican Republic, among others.
The states with the highest number of undocumented immigrants are California, Texas, Florida, New York, New Jersey, and Illinois. While Florida and Washington experienced increases in their undocumented immigrant populations, California and Nevada saw declines. All other states remained unchanged, according to the Pew study.
At least 4.6 percent of the US workforce in 2021 consisted of undocumented immigrants.
The lawful immigrant population also grew by more than 8 million, a 29 percent increase, during 2017-2021. In total, the foreign-born population, including authorized individuals, was 14.1 percent of the US population in 2021, slightly higher than in the last five years.
