In a year where over three million people were encountered at our nation's borders, a staggering figure that represents more than just numbers but immense human movement and systemic strain, the reality of illegal immigration unfolds with profound complexity and consequence.
Key Takeaways
- In fiscal year 2023, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recorded 2,475,669 migrant encounters at the southwest border, including 1,414,130 apprehensions between ports of entry
- CBP reported 670,674 encounters of single adults at the southwest border in FY 2023, comprising 27% of total encounters
- Family unit encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border reached 510,032 in FY 2023, up 45% from FY 2022
- Illegal alien population estimated at 11 million in 2022 by DHS
- Pew Research estimates unauthorized immigrants at 11.0 million in 2022, stable from 2007 peak
- 66% of unauthorized immigrants lived in 20 major metro areas in 2022 per Pew
- FAIR estimates annual net cost of illegal immigration at $150.7 billion in 2023
- Illegal immigrant households cost taxpayers $8,776 per household annually per CIS 2023 data
- FAIR calculates $182 billion in total costs for services to illegal aliens and citizens in 2023
- ICE deported 142,580 illegal aliens in FY 2023
- ICE removals totaled 271,484 in FY 2022, highest since 2010
- 89% of FY 2023 ICE deportees were criminal aliens with convictions
- Texas DPS arrested 39,000 illegal aliens for 68,000 crimes since 2011
- ICE data shows 13,099 illegal aliens convicted of homicide in US since 2017
- 15,811 illegal aliens convicted of sexual assault per ICE FY 2017-2023
Record-high illegal border crossings and an enormous unauthorized population create severe national security and economic burdens.
Border Encounters and Apprehensions
- In fiscal year 2023, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recorded 2,475,669 migrant encounters at the southwest border, including 1,414,130 apprehensions between ports of entry
- CBP reported 670,674 encounters of single adults at the southwest border in FY 2023, comprising 27% of total encounters
- Family unit encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border reached 510,032 in FY 2023, up 45% from FY 2022
- Unaccompanied children encounters totaled 148,385 at the southwest border in FY 2023, a 58% increase from FY 2022
- CBP expelled or removed 2.8 million migrants under Title 42 from March 2020 to May 2023 at the southwest border
- In FY 2022, southwest border encounters hit a record 2,378,944, including over 700,000 from Mexico
- Gotaways, or known got-aways, estimated at 600,000 in FY 2023 by CBP, evading apprehension
- Encounters from non-Mexican nationalities surged to 1.1 million in FY 2023, 49% of total southwest border encounters
- CBP's USBP apprehensions of OTMs (other than Mexicans) reached 1.6 million from FY 2021-2023
- Southwest border USBP Title 8 apprehensions were 1,043,098 in FY 2023
- In calendar year 2023, CBP recorded over 3 million nationwide encounters, with 2.5 million at southwest border
- Northern border encounters rose to 189,383 in FY 2023, up 916% from FY 2020
- CBP Office of Field Operations inadmissible encounters at ports totaled 1.1 million in FY 2023
- Repeat encounters accounted for 27% of southwest border total in FY 2023, per CBP data
- Venezuelans led non-Mexican encounters with 247,000 at southwest border in FY 2023
- Colombians encountered 123,000 times at southwest border in FY 2023
- Ecuadorians had 89,000 southwest border encounters in FY 2023
- Haitians recorded 78,000 encounters at southwest border FY 2023
- Nicaraguans at 72,000 southwest border encounters in FY 2023
- Southwest border encounters from India reached 96,000 in FY 2023
- Chinese nationals encountered 24,000 times at southwest border FY 2023
- CBP seized 21,100 lbs of fentanyl at southwest border in FY 2023, linked to illegal crossings
- Methamphetamine seizures at southwest border totaled 119,000 lbs in FY 2023 by CBP
- Heroin seizures hit 31,000 lbs at southwest border FY 2023
- Cocaine seizures at southwest border were 28,000 lbs in FY 2023
- CBP marijuana seizures at southwest border reached 528,000 lbs FY 2023
Border Encounters and Apprehensions Interpretation
The sheer scale of these numbers—from millions of encounters and a shadow population of 'got-aways' to the tragic influx of families and unaccompanied children, all underscored by tons of seized narcotics—paints a picture of a border system not just strained but fundamentally overwhelmed, presenting a profound humanitarian, security, and logistical challenge that can no longer be dismissed as a simple political talking point.
Crime and Public Safety
- Texas DPS arrested 39,000 illegal aliens for 68,000 crimes since 2011
- ICE data shows 13,099 illegal aliens convicted of homicide in US since 2017
- 15,811 illegal aliens convicted of sexual assault per ICE FY 2017-2023
- GAO reports 27% of federal inmates are illegal aliens in 2021
- CIS analysis: Illegal immigrants 3.8x more likely to be convicted of homicide than natives 2013-2022
- Texas: Illegal aliens arrested for 805 homicides 2013-2022 per DPS
- ICE: 7,700 illegal aliens convicted of kidnapping since 2017
- 267,000+ illegal aliens with criminal convictions at large per ICE 2024
- FBI data cited by CIS: Non-citizens 2.5x more likely for conviction than natives 2011-2016
- NYC: 60% of suspects in felony assaults 2022 were migrants per NYPD
- MS-13 gang: 10,000+ members in US, mostly illegal Salvadorans per FBI
- Tren de Aragua Venezuelan gang active in 8 US states with 400 members per DHS 2024
- ICE arrested 588 illegal aliens for child exploitation in FY 2023
- 425,000 illegal aliens on ICE's violent criminal docket as of 2024
- Arizona: Illegal aliens 18% of state prisoners but 4% population per state data
Crime and Public Safety Interpretation
These numbers paint a grim portrait not of the peaceful family seeking a better life, but of a dangerous, embedded criminal class whose significant overrepresentation in violent crime statistics demands a sober and urgent policy response.
Economic Impacts
- FAIR estimates annual net cost of illegal immigration at $150.7 billion in 2023
- Illegal immigrant households cost taxpayers $8,776 per household annually per CIS 2023 data
- FAIR calculates $182 billion in total costs for services to illegal aliens and citizens in 2023
- Unauthorized immigrants paid $35.1 billion in federal taxes in 2022 per IRS estimates cited by ITEP
- CIS reports 63% of non-citizen households access welfare vs 35% US-born in 2022
- Illegal immigration costs US education system $78 billion yearly per FAIR 2023
- Medical costs for uncompensated care to illegal aliens $18.5 billion annually per FAIR
- Unauthorized workers comprised 4.8% of US workforce in 2022, adding $1.6 trillion GDP per CBO
- ITEP estimates undocumented immigrants contribute $96.7 billion in taxes yearly including state/local
- FAIR justice/ law enforcement costs for illegal immigration $47 billion in 2023
- CBO projects immigration will add $7 trillion to federal budget deficit over 2024-2034
- Unauthorized immigrants remit $150 billion annually abroad per World Bank 2022
- CIS finds 59% of illegal immigrant-headed households use at least one welfare program
- FAIR welfare costs for illegal aliens $42 billion net annually after taxes in 2023
- Undocumented pay 8% effective state/local tax rate, higher than top 1% at 7.2% per ITEP
- Illegal immigration depresses wages for low-skill US workers by 5.1% per Harvard economist G. Borjas
- CBO estimates recent immigration surge boosts GDP by 0.5% annually through 2034
- FAIR general government services to illegal aliens cost $116.5 billion in 2023
- Unauthorized immigrants in construction: 1.4 million workers, 13% of sector in 2022 per BLS via Pew
- 26% of US farming workers unauthorized in 2022 per Pew
Economic Impacts Interpretation
Weighed together, the numbers paint a portrait of an enormous fiscal and social ledger where undocumented immigrants are simultaneously a significant net taxpayer burden and a deeply embedded, productive economic force whose labor and taxes subsidize sectors we depend on while their costs are felt acutely in public budgets.
Enforcement and Deportations
- ICE deported 142,580 illegal aliens in FY 2023
- ICE removals totaled 271,484 in FY 2022, highest since 2010
- 89% of FY 2023 ICE deportees were criminal aliens with convictions
- ICE arrested 73,822 criminal illegal aliens in FY 2023
- Over 435,000 illegal aliens on ICE's NTA docket as of FY 2023 end
- ICE detained average 36,621 illegal aliens daily in FY 2023
- 170,595 criminal aliens removed by ICE FY 2019-2023 cumulative
- ICE ERO interior arrests: 38,295 in FY 2023
- 1.4 million illegal aliens with criminal convictions at large per ICE 2023
- CBP repatriations: 179,400 in FY 2023
- Title 42 expulsions: 2.4 million from ports of entry FY 2020-2023 per CBP
- ICE alternatives to detention monitored 258,000 illegal aliens monthly in FY 2023
- 59,000 fugitive aliens removed by ICE in FY 2023
- ICE gang arrests: 1,100 MS-13 members in FY 2023
- 15,800 sex offenders among criminal aliens arrested by ICE FY 2023
- HSI arrested 8,300 illegal alien criminals in FY 2023
- ICE deported 20,000+ child sex predators since 2009 cumulative
- 78% of ICE interior removals were criminals in FY 2023
- DOJ prosecuted 33,000+ illegal entry/reentry cases in FY 2023
- EOIR immigration courts had 3 million pending cases in FY 2023
Enforcement and Deportations Interpretation
The numbers paint a stark picture of a system playing whack-a-mole on a continental scale, where record deportations of dangerous criminals exist alongside a backlog of millions and a staggering population of convicted fugitives still at large.
Population and Demographics
- Illegal alien population estimated at 11 million in 2022 by DHS
- Pew Research estimates unauthorized immigrants at 11.0 million in 2022, stable from 2007 peak
- 66% of unauthorized immigrants lived in 20 major metro areas in 2022 per Pew
- Mexican unauthorized immigrants numbered 4.0 million in 2022, 37% of total per Pew
- Unauthorized from Central America at 1.7 million in 2022, 15% of total per Pew
- South American unauthorized immigrants totaled 1.0 million in 2022 per Pew Research
- 45% of unauthorized immigrants have lived in US 10+ years as of 2022 per Pew
- MPI estimates unauthorized population at 11.3 million in 2021
- 4.6 million unauthorized immigrant households used at least one welfare program in 2022 per CIS
- Unauthorized immigrants comprised 5.2% of US population in 2022 per DHS
- 8.3 million unauthorized immigrants in US labor force in 2022 per Pew
- 5 million US-born children live with unauthorized immigrant parent per MPI 2019 data
- Unauthorized immigrants accounted for 22% of US foreign-born population in 2022 per Pew
- California hosted 1.85 million unauthorized immigrants in 2022 per Pew
- Texas had 1.6 million unauthorized immigrants in 2022 per Pew
- Florida unauthorized population at 1.2 million in 2022 per Pew
- New York state had 650,000 unauthorized immigrants in 2022 per Pew
- New Jersey unauthorized at 475,000 in 2022 per Pew
- 77% of unauthorized immigrants age 25+ had high school diploma or less in 2022 per Pew
- Only 7% of unauthorized immigrants had bachelor's degree in 2022 per Pew
- FAIR estimates 15.5 million illegal aliens in US as of 2023
- DHS reports 1.5 million unauthorized immigrants overstayed visas in FY 2022
Population and Demographics Interpretation
While the exact headcount is hotly debated, the static core data paints a picture of a deeply rooted, largely working-class population that has become a structural, if unofficial, part of the American demographic and economic landscape.
Sources & References
- Reference 1CBPcbp.govVisit source
- Reference 2DHSdhs.govVisit source
- Reference 3PEWRESEARCHpewresearch.orgVisit source
- Reference 4MIGRATIONPOLICYmigrationpolicy.orgVisit source
- Reference 5CIScis.orgVisit source
- Reference 6FAIRUSfairus.orgVisit source
- Reference 7ITEPitep.orgVisit source
- Reference 8CBOcbo.govVisit source
- Reference 9WORLDBANKworldbank.orgVisit source
- Reference 10NBERnber.orgVisit source
- Reference 11ICEice.govVisit source
- Reference 12JUSTICEjustice.govVisit source
- Reference 13DPSdps.texas.govVisit source
- Reference 14GAOgao.govVisit source
- Reference 15CITY-JOURNALcity-journal.orgVisit source
- Reference 16FBIfbi.govVisit source
- Reference 17AZLEGazleg.govVisit source