Undocumented population continuing to decline

• The undocumented population was 10.8 million in 2016, the lowest level since 2003.
• The number of US undocumented residents from Mexico fell by almost one million between 2010 and 2016, from 6.6 million to 5.7 million. Mexican undocumented population began to decline in about 2008.
• Average annual undocumented population growth dropped from 15% plus in the 1990s to about 4% plus percent in 2000 to 2010, to 1% decline between 2010 and 2016.

By the Center for Migration Studies of New York

The Center does not analyze the causes for the decline between 2010 and 2016 other than to mention that during the Obama administration ICE enforcement picked up, with a rise in deportations to about 400,000 year.

Another reason may be demographic shifts in Mexico, with a relative lowering of the population of young males who are the type of person most likely to be an undocumented. This is causing labor shortages in California farming.

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