President-elect Donald Trump plans to launch a massive deportation campaign targeting millions of immigrants living in the US illegally and with temporary protection after taking office on January 20, a challenging initiative that could embolden families. could divide America and affect American businesses.
There were approximately 11 million immigrants in the US illegally or with temporary status in early 2022, with some analysts saying that figure has risen to 13-14 million. People with temporary protection cannot be immediately deported and many live in “sanctuary” states that limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.
Where do immigrants without legal status live?
California was the state with the most illegal immigrants in the US, with about 2.2 million in 2022, according to estimates by New York’s Center for Migration Studies, a nonpartisan think tank.
Texas was last with 1.8 million, followed by Florida (936,000), New York (672,000). New Jersey (495,000) and Illinois (429,000).
According to the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, California, New York, New Jersey and Illinois — all Democratic strongholds — are among 11 states with “sanctuary” laws or policies that limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.
According to the Migration Center’s estimate, about 44% of immigrants to the US in 2022 lived illegally in sanctuary states. That figure does not include people in sanctuary cities and counties without a state-wide law, like New Mexico.
The majority of immigrants detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have been caught crossing the border illegally or have been deported from state and local jails and prisons.
Law enforcement in sanctuary states generally refuse to alert ICE when they detain or release an immigrant eligible for deportation.
Where do immigrants without legal status come from?
Nearly half of the immigrants coming to the US illegally in 2022 will come from Mexico, accounting for 4.8 million of the 11 million total, the US Department of Homeland Security reports.
The other top countries were Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras.
Nearly 2 million immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela either caught crossing illegally or allowed to enter through Biden-era humanitarian programs through January 2022, according to DHS data Went.
Trump intends to end Biden entry programs, including one for migrants with U.S. sponsors and another that allows migrants in Mexico to use an app to enter at legal border crossings.
Where do immigrants work illegally in the US?
The majority of immigrants who came to the US illegally in 2022 were of working age, according to the DHS report. Of the 11 million, about 8.7 million were aged 18–54 years.
Farm groups have urged Trump to protect their workers from mass deportations as he has promised, arguing that their expulsion would affect the US food supply chain.
Think tanks and the US government have different estimates about the number of farm workers living in the US illegally. New York’s Center for Migration Studies found that the total number will be 283,000 in 2022, about half of which will be in California. The US government estimates the nationwide total could be closer to 1 million.
How many Americans live in ‘mixed status households’?
Immigration advocacy group FWD.us estimated that there will be 14.5 million immigrants in the US illegally by January 2025, up from 11 million in 2022.
Of those, 10.1 million live with a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, in what is called a “mixed-status household.”
This data suggests that a large-scale deportation initiative would tear families apart and affect millions of US citizens and permanent residents.
At least 5.1 million U.S. citizen children live with immigrant parents who lack legal status, according to a FWD.us analysis of government data.
Those families may face the possibility of relocating to another country together or being separated.
How long have immigrants without legal status lived in the US?
Nearly 54% of immigrants to the US were living in the country illegally for more than 10 years by 2022, according to a report by New York’s Center for Migration Studies.
About 25 percent had been in the country for less than five years.
How many immigrants in the US no longer have legal status?
DHS, New York’s Center for Migration Studies, and other think tanks, using US Census data and other statistics, have estimated that there were approximately 11 million immigrants in the US in 2022 who either lacked legal immigration status or had temporary humanitarian status. There was security.
DHS enforcement and admissions statistics show that at least 5 million more immigrants have entered the US without legal status or temporary humanitarian status since then.
However, some of those immigrants have since been deported, voluntarily left, gained legal status or died in the same period. The latest estimates that account for all these results are not available.
Are people with temporary protection counted in these estimates?
Yes, the presumption of immigrants in the US illegally generally includes people who have temporary humanitarian protection, meaning they will not be immediately deported.
Protection includes 1.1 million people covered by Temporary Protected Status (TPS) as of September 30. TPS provides access to deportation relief and work permits to people who are already in the US if their home countries are deemed unsafe due to armed conflict, natural disasters, etc. or other extraordinary circumstances.
Designations last six to 18 months but can be renewed indefinitely. Trump sought to end most TPS enrollments during his 2017–2021 presidency, but was blocked by federal courts.
He is expected to attempt to eliminate most TPS enrollments as the protections expire, but the process will face litigation.
Thousands of people have a similar status known as Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) that Trump may also try to roll back.
Another 535,000 people receive deportation relief and work permits through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program for “Dreamer” immigrants who were brought to the United States illegally as children.
Trump tried to end the DACA program during his first term but was rejected by the Supreme Court.
Trump is expected to again attempt to end DACA, although he recently said in an interview that he would be open to a deal to protect “Dreamers.”
The state of Texas is currently leading a lawsuit against the program that could return to the Supreme Court during Trump’s presidency.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
