New Delhi: In recent years, the issue of unauthorized immigration has been a topic of much debate and discussion. A recent study by the Pew Research Centre has shed light on the scale of unauthorized immigration in the United States, revealing that Indians form the third largest group of undocumented immigrants in the country.
According to the study, there were approximately 725,000 undocumented Indian immigrants in the US, making India the third-largest country of origin for unauthorized migrants.
Meanwhile, Mexico and El Salvador have surpassed India in terms of the number of unauthorized immigrants, but India’s presence as the third-largest group is significant.
Further, the study has also indicated that from 2007 to 2021, there was a notable increase in unauthorized immigrants from various regions, including South and East Asia. In this period, Central America witnessed the largest increase in unauthorized immigrants, followed by Asia.
Despite a decrease in unauthorized Mexican immigrants, both El Salvador and India experienced an increase in their respective numbers.
The Pew Research Centre analysis has also identified the states with the largest populations of unauthorized immigrants in 2021: California, Texas, Florida, New York, New Jersey, and Illinois were the top six. California, with approximately 1.9 million unauthorized immigrants, had the highest concentration, followed by Texas with 1.6 million.
Alongside India, other countries such as Brazil, Canada, and former Soviet Union nations also witnessed growth in their unauthorized immigrant populations from 2017 to 2021, according to the study.
The study highlighted that in 2021, the population of unauthorized immigrants from various countries was estimated at 6.4 million, an increase of 900,000 since 2017.
