The number of illegal immigrants in the United States ticked down slightly to 11.5 million as of January 2011, according to statistics released by the Obama administration on an issue likely to play a big role in the US presidential campaign.
The US Department of Homeland Security estimated the number has remained largely stable - just down from 11.6 million in 2010 - citing the high US unemployment rate, improved economic conditions in Mexico and increased border enforcement. "Mexico continued to be the leading source country of unauthorised immigration to the United States," according to the DHS report, noting that Mexicans made up 59 percent of the group, with 6.8 million believed to be in the country.
Illegal immigrants from El Salvador were a distant second, with some 660,000 believed to be in the United States. States along the south-west border with Mexico topped the list with the most immigrants illegally in the country, with about 2.83 million in California, followed by almost 1.8 million in Texas, the DHS Office of Immigration Statistics report said.
Florida was a distant third with 740,000. The biggest percentage increase was in Georgia from 220,000 in 2000 to 440,000 in January 2011, according to the report. DHS based its new estimate on figures collected as part of the 2010 Census. The issue of immigration has been a hot topic on the presidential campaign trail with Mitt Romney, the leading candidate for the Republican nomination to face President Barack Obama in November's election, backing tougher measures to crack down on illegal immigrants.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.