What was the number of unauthorized immigrants in the United States in 2023?

US Government

Sep 8

Critical Analysis

Find answers to the following questions using the visual above, any links below, your big brain, and your knowledge of American government and politics:

The label “unauthorized immigrants” captures a complex array of statuses, including immigrants who entered the U.S. legally. While the label is not perfect, it groups together immigrants living in the country with impermanent, precarious statuses. The term has been used for decades by researchers who develop estimates of the population and is generally used in the data above and the accompanying Pew Research report. According to the visual above what was the total number of unauthorized immigrants in the United States in 2023?
When I graduated from college there were around 3.5 million unauthorized immigrants in the United States. Describe how the unauthorized immigrant population has change since then.
Explain how the change you described in the unauthorized immigrant population has impacted American politics?
Put the following Presidents on the chart in the visual above and draw a conclusion about how political party impacts unauthorized immigration. 1988: George H.W. Bush (R) for Republican; 1992 Bill Clinton (D) for Democrat; 1996 Clinton (D); 2000 George W. Bush (R); 2004 Bush (R); 2008 Barack Obama (D); 2012 Obama (D); 2016 Donald J, Trump (R); 2020 Joseph Biden (D); 2024 Trump (R).
The number of unauthorized immigrants in the United States reached an all-time high of 14 million in 2023 after two consecutive years of record growth, according to a new Pew Research Center estimate. The increase of 3.5 million in two years is the biggest on record. After he came to power in 2025, President Donald J. Trump began to crack down on unauthorized immigrants. Preliminary data indicates a decrease in the number of unauthorized immigrants in 2025. The recent budget act know as the Big Beautiful Bill Act provided U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) with around $30 billion for enforcement and deportation, which is nearly triple its previous annual budget of about $10 billion, and another $45 billion was allocated for building new detention facilities. This substantial funding boost aims to expand the agency's capacity for enforcement and detention. How do you think the Trump presidency will impact the number of unauthorized immigrants in the U.S.?
In order to limit tyranny, The U.S. Constitution created a system of separation of powers. Recently, the congress passed the Big Beautiful Bill and funded the massive increases in spending for ICE, but the president actually directs ICE, and the courts could declare either law or execution of the law unconstitutional. Which branch do you think is most powerful in enacting immigration policy?
The overall U.S. immigrant population reached an all-time high of more than 53 million in January 2025, accounting for a record 15.8% of the U.S. population. Because that number is so high, probably a number of your classmates and schoolmates are unauthorized immigrants or have family members who are unauthorized immigrants. If you get to know them you will probably find out that they are a lot like you. The other day in class a student told me that immigrants were immigreat. Another student argued that immigrants take American jobs. What do you think so many politicians are rushing to demonize and remove such a large portion of American?
According to the visual below* and your own experience, how has immigration impacted your state?
How do you think President Trump’s crackdown on unauthorized immigrants will impact the American economy?
About 4.4 million U.S.-born children under 18 live with an unauthorized immigrant parent. They account for about 84% of all minor children living with their unauthorized immigrant parent. Altogether, about 850,000 children under 18 are unauthorized immigrants in 2022. In an interview with NBC's Meet the Press, Trump said he thought the children of unauthorized immigrants should be deported alongside their parents - even if they were born in the US. "I don't want to be breaking up families," Trump said last December. "So the only way you don't break up the family is you keep them together and you have to send them all back." How do you think deporting parents of American kids will be viewed by the American public?

Write and Discuss

Take ten minutes to write about the question at the top of the page and then discuss with your classmates.

Act on your Learning

Complete this lesson: Can Trump End Birthright Citizenship? then contact the President to let him know what you think about birthright citizenship.

Get Creative

A found poem is a poem made by rearranging words, phrases, or passages from another text. Found poems are created by selecting language that is interesting or meaningful to the poet, and then organizing it around a theme or message. Use the words from today’s lessons to make a found poem about immigration. Remember, a poem can rhyme but it doesn’t have to. Also,you may be a poet and you just don’t know it.