Illegal Border Crossings Today:

FAIR: Illegal Alien Population Soars to a Record 14.5 Million Amidst COVID-19 Pandemic

January 27, 2021
United States Immigration and Population Growth

(January 27, 2021, Washington, D.C.) — A promise of a wide-sweeping amnesty from the incoming Biden administration coupled with an expansion of sanctuary jurisdictions, and continued public benefits for illegal aliens, has driven the illegal alien population of the United States into record territory, finds a new analysis by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). There are now an estimated 14.5 million people living illegally in the United States, imposing a nearly $2 billion increased net fiscal burden from 2019.

According to the report, a combination of factors is responsible for the increase in the number of people residing illegally in the U.S:

  • A nationwide increase in the number of sanctuary jurisdictions, or areas where local and state law enforcement are prohibited from cooperating with federal immigration law enforcement.
     
  • Many unscrupulous businesses continue to exploit illegal workers to lower labor costs and pad their profits.
     
  • An increasing number of states and jurisdictions offering social welfare programs and other benefits to illegal aliens, including in-state tuition, driver’s licenses, and even COVID-19 relief funds.
     
  • A massively backlogged immigration court system.
     
  • The promise of a wide-sweeping amnesty from the incoming administration.

Despite these reckless policies, the increase in the illegal alien population grew at a lower-than-expected rate. This can be attributed to a variety of reasons, including:

  • Travel freezes that gave fewer people an opportunity to overstay their visas and remain in the country illegally.
     
  • Fewer available jobs in the United States, especially in industries that attract illegal aliens. 
     
  • The implementation of the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP). The MPP requires that many asylum applicants wait outside the United States while their cases are processed.

“Even amidst a global pandemic, where a number of immigration and border restrictions have been put in place, illegal immigration has continued to unacceptably climb,” said Dan Stein, president of FAIR.

“It is clear that the Biden administration’s immigration proposals—including a mass amnesty for the nation’s illegal alien population, deportation freezes for at least 100 days, and construction halts of the southern border wall—are motivating aliens to enter into the country illegally. These figures are only likely to surge in the next few years,” concluded Stein.

The full report, 2020 Update How Many Illegal Aliens Live in the United States?, can be found here.  

Contact: Matthew Tragesser, 202-328-7004 or mtragesser@fairus.org