6 States With Most Unauthorized Immigrants in 2023

The Pew Research Center is out with a new analysis of unauthorized immigrants, and one stat stands out: In 2023, the US had a record-high 14 million such immigrants, reports the Hill. The total followed two straight years of record growth, which Pew chalks up to the end of the pandemic, as well as policy changes under the Biden administration. As the numbers were rising in this period, President Trump made tougher immigration policies a mainstay of his reelection campaign.

State-level data shows that the top six states accounted for 56% of the total population of unauthorized immigrants:

• California, 2.3 million
• Texas, 2.1 million
• Florida, 1.6 million
• New York, 825,000
• New Jersey, 600,000
• Illinois, 550,000

• Florida gained the most unauthorized immigrants from 2021-23 with 700,000, followed by Texas (450,000), California (425,000), and New York (230,000). Eight states gained at least 75,000: New Jersey, Illinois, Georgia, North Carolina, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Ohio.
• Axios notes that Texas now trails California by only 200,000 migrants, down from a gap of 1.2 million in 2017.
• Pew uses the term "unauthorized immigrants," explaining that it "captures a complex array of statuses, including immigrants who entered the US legally. While the label is not perfect, it groups together immigrants living in the country with impermanent, precarious statuses."