US Still Home to 11.2M Illegal Immigrants

Despite shaky economic conditions and record deportations from the Obama administration, the number of illegal immigrants in the US remained essentially unchanged in 2010, according to a new study from the Pew Hispanic Center. “We just don’t see indications that enforcement is pushing people to leave the US,” one of the report’s co-authors tells the New York Times.

That seems to suggest that the so-called “attrition through enforcement” strategy—that is, making life so difficult for illegal immigrants that they opt to leave—isn’t working. But supporters of that approach say it’s the White House’s decision to shy away from flashy workplace raids that’s to blame. “They do not feel as threatened at work,” said one anti-illegal immigration activist. (More illegal immigration stories.)