Immigration by the numbers
How secure is the US-Mexico border?
Apprehensions at the Southwest border are at an all-time low, and there are over 650 miles of border fencing already in place. The Trump administration plans on hiring over 5,000 more Border Patrol officers in the near future, but the agency has had issues retaining and recruiting agents over recent years.
U.S. Border Patrol Agents, in Thousands
Southwest Border Apprehensions
Fencing and terrain types along the southwest border
The US is increasingly taking unauthorized immigrants to court
The number of returns—people simply denied entry at the border and sent back to their home country—has declined in recent years as fewer are making the attempt. Removals, which are formal deportations and carry much stiffer penalties, now make up the majority of these cases. As the caseload has grown, immigration courts have not been given additional resources and can’t keep up.
Removals and Returns
Removal Demographics
Characteristics of 4 million individuals deported between October 2002 and January 2016
“Criminal” immigrants
Throughout his campaign, President Trump claimed that immigrants committed violent crimes at elevated levels. However, data show the vast majority of people deported from the U.S. have committed no violent crime—and zero cases have been linked to terrorism in FY 2017.
Deportation Proceedings
Some 170,000 proceedings have been held through May of FY 2017. Most have resulted in charges of immigration violation.
Reasons for Deportation
Removals between October 2002–January 2016
Terrorism Risk
How many unauthorized immigrants live in the US?
It’s difficult to measure exactly how many unauthorized immigrants reside in the U.S., and estimates aren’t released every year. However, the available data indicate that the population has remained steady in recent years. In the years following the financial crisis, the proportion of Mexicans in this group has declined. An increasing number of unauthorized immigrants come from countries in Central America.
Estimated Population of Unauthorized Immigrants, in Millions
Estimated Population of Unauthorized Immigrants by Country of Origin, in Millions
Top Countries of Origin as of 2014
President Trump’s crackdown on refugees
President Trump slashed the cap for FY 2017 refugee admissions from 110,000 to 50,000, and the amount of refugees admitted during his administration has dropped. National security was used as the rationale for limiting refugee admissions, but the odds of being killed by a refugee in a terrorist incident is astronomically low.
Refugee Admissions by Month, FY 2016–2017, in Thousands
Refugee Admissions, 1975–Present, in Thousands
A terrorist threat?
The odds of being killed by a refugee in a terrorist incident, per year, are
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