Migrants without documents

The majority of Americans believe that immigration is good for the country. Thus, a Gallup poll in July 2023 showed that 68% of respondents believe that immigration has a positive impact on the United States, while 28% are convinced that immigration has a negative impact on the country.

However, the issue of so-called “illegal immigration” stands apart: the permanent residence in the United States of foreigners who have no official right to live and work in the United States. Public opinion surveys show that the majority of Americans believe that illegal immigration has become one of the country’s most serious problems.

Statistics

The exact number of migrants in the United States illegally is unknown. The Congressional Research Service, relying on estimates from various structures, suggests that in 2022 there will be more than 11 million. According to the Pew Research Center, in 2021 there were 10.5 million. That is, every fifth immigrant living in the United States does not have a legal right to do so, and every thirty-second resident of the country is on its territory illegally.

While previously most people without the right to reside in the U.S. moved from Mexico, in recent years there have been an increasing number of immigrants from Central America, the Caribbean, China, India, and some European nations. While in the past most of them entered the United States legally on tourist or other visas and stayed, an increasing number are now crossing the U.S. border with Mexico and either seeking asylum in the United States or actually going illegal.

According to estimates by the non-governmental Center for Immigration Studies, the influx of such migrants is unprecedented: since January 2021, there have been more than 2.7 million migrants who have applied to U.S. authorities for asylum and have been granted the right to await a decision by an immigration court in the United States, and at least 1.5 million people who have crossed the border and about whose identity and place of residence the authorities have no information.

Money

In the US, unlike European nations, these migrants are not eligible for the vast majority of federal welfare benefits, but can claim them in individual states and municipalities. They do pay some taxes – such as real estate or sales taxes. However, numerous studies demonstrate that American taxpayers de facto sponsor such migrants, as they have much lower incomes than most legal residents for obvious reasons and therefore receive support from various budgets.

For example, medical institutions actually provide free of charge assistance to low-income migrants who do not have health insurance and do not have funds to pay for treatment and medicines. In addition, their family members receive various benefits and allowances – for example, schools have to spend additional funds to provide children from such families with food, allowances and additional educational services (e.g., English lessons). In January 2023, the Center for Immigration Studies reported that almost 60% of such households use at least one social assistance program, and that the U.S. spends an average of $68,000 to support each unauthorized migrant in its territory.

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