Unauthorized Migrants: Numbers and Characteristics

This report examines the characteristics and demographics of the unauthorized immigrant population in the United States as of 2004. It was developed as a briefing paper for MPI's Independent Task Force on Immigration and America’s Future, co-chaired by former Senator Spencer Abraham (R-MI) and former Congressman Lee Hamilton (D-IN).

The bipartisan task force has been convened by MPI in partnership with the Manhattan Institute and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. 

An estimated 10.3 million unauthorized immigrants lived in the United States in 2004, with net growth averaging 450,000 per year between 1990-94 and accelerating to 750,000 a year between 1995-99. Contrary to stereotype, most unauthorized immigrants lived in families, one-quarter had at least some college education, and they worked across many sectors of the U.S. economy, not just low-wage industries.