Illegal Migration Up in U.S., Study Finds
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WASHINGTON — Illegal immigrants are entering the country in increasing numbers despite tighter border security and now outnumber foreigners moving to the United States legally, the Pew Hispanic Center reported Tuesday.
“The U.S. economy was obviously a very important factor in determining these flows,” said Roberto Suro, director of the center and a co-author of its immigration study.
Since 2001, the number of legal permanent residents entering the U.S. has declined from 578,000 to 455,000, while the number of illegal immigrants has increased from 549,000 to 562,000, the study found.
“We’ve seen a fairly steady growth in the number of undocumented immigrants living here, and this data shows very sizable numbers coming in,” demographer Jeffrey Passel said. “We’re clearly not stopping them at the border.”
Declines in legal immigration “appear to reflect processing backlogs, security delays and other developments that followed the Sept. 11 attacks,” the report says.
The report documents immigration levels from 1992 to 2004.
The Pew Hispanic Center is a nonpartisan research group supported by the Pew Charitable Trusts.
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