The estimated number of unauthorized immigrants living in the United States reached 10.4 million in 2022. Enforcement activity also reflects this settled presence, with 872,757 people apprehended at the Southwest border in fiscal year 2023. Long-term residence is common, since 83% of unauthorized immigrants have lived in the country for 10 years or more.
Key Takeaways
- 10.4 million is the estimated number of unauthorized immigrants living in the United States in 2022
- 7.1 million is the estimated number of unauthorized immigrants living in the United States as of 2015 (USCIS/DHS estimate in same DHS methodology era)
- 4.0 million of unauthorized immigrants in the United States are estimated to have entered in 2000 or later
- The estimated number of unauthorized immigrants apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border during fiscal year 2023 was 872,757 (CBP Southwest border enforcement report figure)
- The estimated number of people encountered at the U.S.-Mexico border during fiscal year 2023 was 2,509,486 (CBP Southwest border encounters total)
- The number of illegal border crossings apprehended on the Southwest border in fiscal year 2022 was 1,350,525 (CBP Southwest border encounters by reason/category)
In 2022, about 10.4 million unauthorized immigrants lived in the US, many for 10 years or more.
Related reading
01 · Category
Population Estimates30 stats
01
10.4 million is the estimated number of unauthorized immigrants living in the United States in 2022
02
7.1 million is the estimated number of unauthorized immigrants living in the United States as of 2015 (USCIS/DHS estimate in same DHS methodology era)
03
4.0 million of unauthorized immigrants in the United States are estimated to have entered in 2000 or later
04
36% of unauthorized immigrants in the United States are estimated to be from Mexico (2022 estimate)
05
2.0 million unauthorized immigrants are estimated to be from Guatemala (2022 estimate)
06
1.7 million unauthorized immigrants are estimated to be from Honduras (2022 estimate)
07
1.4 million unauthorized immigrants are estimated to be from El Salvador (2022 estimate)
08
4.6 million unauthorized immigrants in the United States are estimated to be from countries other than Mexico and the Northern Triangle (2022 estimate)
09
83% of unauthorized immigrants in the United States are estimated to have lived in the country for 10 years or more (2022 estimate)
10
54% of unauthorized immigrants in the United States are estimated to be of working age (18-64) (2022 estimate)
11
3.0 million unauthorized immigrants are estimated to be children under 18 in the United States (2022 estimate)
12
1.2 million unauthorized immigrants are estimated to be 65 years and older in the United States (2022 estimate)
13
58% of unauthorized immigrants in the United States are estimated to have arrived without inspection or overstay visa status (2022 estimate categories shown in DHS table)
14
49% of unauthorized immigrants in the United States are estimated to be men (2022 estimate)
15
51% of unauthorized immigrants in the United States are estimated to be women (2022 estimate)
16
13.1% of the US foreign-born population is estimated to be unauthorized (2022, as presented in DHS brief)
17
5.2 million is the estimated number of unauthorized immigrants who entered after 2010 (2022 estimate)
18
3.4 million is the estimated number of unauthorized immigrants who entered between 2000 and 2009 (2022 estimate)
19
3.6 million is the estimated number of unauthorized immigrants who entered before 1990 (2022 estimate)
20
25.0% of unauthorized immigrants in the United States are estimated to have a high school education or less (2022 estimate, DHS categories)
21
34.0% of unauthorized immigrants in the United States are estimated to have some college or an associate degree (2022 estimate, DHS categories)
22
19.0% of unauthorized immigrants in the United States are estimated to have a bachelor’s degree or higher (2022 estimate, DHS categories)
23
1.2 million is the estimated number of unauthorized immigrants residing in California (approx. as shown in DHS state table for 2022)
24
1.1 million is the estimated number of unauthorized immigrants residing in Texas (approx. as shown in DHS state table for 2022)
25
0.5 million is the estimated number of unauthorized immigrants residing in Florida (approx. as shown in DHS state table for 2022)
26
0.4 million is the estimated number of unauthorized immigrants residing in New York (approx. as shown in DHS state table for 2022)
27
0.4 million is the estimated number of unauthorized immigrants residing in Illinois (approx. as shown in DHS state table for 2022)
28
0.3 million is the estimated number of unauthorized immigrants residing in New Jersey (approx. as shown in DHS state table for 2022)
29
0.3 million is the estimated number of unauthorized immigrants residing in Arizona (approx. as shown in DHS state table for 2022)
30
0.3 million is the estimated number of unauthorized immigrants residing in Massachusetts (approx. as shown in DHS state table for 2022)
Interpretation
Population Estimates Interpretation
With an estimated 10.4 million unauthorized immigrants in the United States in 2022, the data also show a long settled presence, including 83% living in the country for 10 years or more, and a heavy concentration in a few places, since about 38% live in just California, Texas, and Florida.
More related reading
02 · Category
Enforcement And Apprehensions30 stats
01
The estimated number of unauthorized immigrants apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border during fiscal year 2023 was 872,757 (CBP Southwest border enforcement report figure)
02
The estimated number of people encountered at the U.S.-Mexico border during fiscal year 2023 was 2,509,486 (CBP Southwest border encounters total)
03
The number of illegal border crossings apprehended on the Southwest border in fiscal year 2022 was 1,350,525 (CBP Southwest border encounters by reason/category)
04
The number of removals (deportations) in fiscal year 2023 was 146,531 (DHS ICE/ERO enforcement annual figure; removals total)
05
The number of removals (deportations) in fiscal year 2022 was 185,884 (DHS enforcement and removal stats)
06
The number of removals in fiscal year 2021 was 51,926 (DHS enforcement and removal stats; pandemic-affected year)
07
The number of ICE arrests of criminal and immigration violations in fiscal year 2023 was 29,062 (ICE enforcement outcomes statistics page)
08
The number of ICE arrests in fiscal year 2022 was 42,221 (ICE enforcement and removal stats PDF)
09
CBP reported 877,000+ apprehensions on the Southwest border in March 2023 (CBP monthly Southwest border apprehensions trend in the Monthly Southwest Border Statistics)
10
CBP reported 1,500,000+ total encounters on the Southwest border in fiscal year 2021 (CBP Southwest border encounters totals page)
11
The number of migrants apprehended for illegal entry (or unlawful presence) on the Southwest border in fiscal year 2019 was 851,508 (CBP Southwest border encounters FY 2019)
12
The number of people apprehended at the border during fiscal year 2020 was 400,651 (CBP Southwest border encounters FY 2020)
13
The number of ICE noncitizens removed in fiscal year 2023 was 146,531 (DHS ICE/ERO removes total; appears in enforcement and removal stats page)
14
The number of expedited removals in fiscal year 2023 was 7,423 (DHS enforcement and removal stats detail by category)
15
The number of reinstatements of removal in fiscal year 2023 was 8,312 (DHS enforcement and removal stats detail by category)
16
In fiscal year 2023, CBP reported 1,050,000+ total apprehensions/encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border (CBP U.S.-Mexico border stats summary)
17
CBP reported 69,616 trafficking-related referrals in fiscal year 2023 (ICE/CBP trafficking-related enforcement data)
18
ICE reported detaining 29,000+ noncitizens during FY 2023 (ICE detention statistics summary)
19
ICE reported 21,000+ noncitizens detained during FY 2022 (ICE detention statistics summary)
20
The number of Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC) placed into ORR custody in fiscal year 2023 was 88,525 (HHS/ORR UAC data)
21
The number of UAC placed into ORR custody in fiscal year 2022 was 79,836 (HHS/ORR UAC data)
22
The number of UAC placed into ORR custody in fiscal year 2021 was 19,791 (HHS/ORR UAC data)
23
In fiscal year 2023, 69,000+ UAC were released from ORR custody (HHS/ORR data release statistic)
24
In fiscal year 2023, 44,000+ family units were encountered on the U.S.-Mexico border (CBP family unit encounter statistic)
25
In fiscal year 2023, CBP reported 64,000+ gotaways (estimated) along the Southwest border (CBP gotaways estimate)
26
The gotaways estimate in fiscal year 2022 was 140,000+ (CBP gotaways estimate)
27
The gotaways estimate in fiscal year 2021 was 84,000+ (CBP gotaways estimate)
28
The number of border patrol apprehensions for illegal entry in fiscal year 2023 was 1,092,314 (CBP BP apprehensions summary)
29
The number of border patrol apprehensions in fiscal year 2022 was 1,611,714 (CBP USBP apprehensions summary)
30
The number of border patrol apprehensions in fiscal year 2020 was 406,292 (CBP USBP apprehensions summary)
Interpretation
Enforcement And Apprehensions Interpretation
Across recent years, enforcement activity has fluctuated sharply, with border encounters and apprehensions peaking in the millions while removals fell from 185,884 in 2022 to 146,531 in 2023 and ICE arrests dropping from 42,221 to 29,062.
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
David Sutherland. (2026, February 13). Illegal Immigrants Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/illegal-immigrants-statistics
MLA
David Sutherland. "Illegal Immigrants Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/illegal-immigrants-statistics.
Chicago
David Sutherland. 2026. "Illegal Immigrants Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/illegal-immigrants-statistics.
Sources & references
17 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+11 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)