How Many Chinese are Unauthorized Immigrants in the U.S.?

According to a new study by the Department of Homeland Security, as of January 2007 there were 11.8 million unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. Among them, 290,000 were born in China. This is a 49% increase in the number of Chinese unauthorized immigrants since 2000. China ranks fifth on the list of source countries for unauthorized immigrants, after Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Philippines. The term “unauthorized immigrants” here refers to persons who entered the U.S. without inspection or who were admitted temporarily and stayed past the date they were required to leave. See Michael Hoefer, et al., Estimates of the Unauthorized Immigrant Population Residing in the United States: January 2007 (USCIS Sept. 2008).

Here’s my take on this study. The study doesn’t explain whether the rate at which Chinese are violating U.S. the immigration laws (i.e., entering without inspection or overstaying their visas) is increasing or decreasing. It’s possible that the rate has decreased significantly due to improving social and economic conditions in China. The figures may not reflect this decrease because, according to some sources, there are up to 50,000 PRC citizens in the U.S. with final orders of deportation who have not been repatriated because the PRC government has not cooperated sufficiently by issuing the necessary travel papers for them to be returned to China. If this is true, a large percentage of the increase in the number of unauthorized immigrants from China may be due to the slow rate of violators departing the U.S., not due to the rate of violations by new entrants.