Whether one chooses to call it illegal immigration, unauthorized immigration, irregular immigration or undocumented immigration, that type of immigration constitutes a mounting dilemma for America.
For a myriad of economic, ideological and political reasons, Congress has been unable or unwilling to address the record-high numbers of unauthorized border crossings, the large numbers of visa overstayers and the millions of men, women and children residing unlawfully within the country.
In addition to congressional paralysis, the federal government has not been able to effectively address the logistical and humanitarian crisis at the southern border, the visa overstayers in the U.S., and the growing numbers of migrants residing illegally within the country.
The most recent developments in the matter are of little help.
In 2012, the Obama administration, responding to congressional inaction on immigration reform, issued the Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals (DACA) executive action. That action protected hundreds of thousands of young illegal immigrants from deportation.
However, after years of being on shaky ground, in September a federal judge in Texas ruled the program unlawful, finding former President Obama exceeded his authority when he established it a decade ago. While allowing current DACA beneficiaries numbering more than 600,000 to remain in the program, the judge barred submissions from new applicants.
On border security, in 2017, the Trump administration proposed building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. That administration also had those seeking asylum wait outside the U.S. while their claims were being considered by using a public health emergency rule, known as Title 42 and commonly labeled as the“Remain in Mexico” policy.
The Biden administration shut down construction on the border wall and, after a Supreme Court ruling in its favor, ended the Remain in Mexico policy, permitting asylum seekers to wait inside the U.S while their claims are being reviewed. Meanwhile, neither the former administration nor the current one has been able to come up with policies that would address the large numbers of visa overstayers that remain unlawfully in the country.
It’s not just Congress and the administration struggling with the growing illegal immigration dilemma. America’s federal courts, which are responsible for deciding immigration claims, are overwhelmed. Those courts currently face a backlog of 1.3 million cases. The average wait time to address immigration cases, including those seeking asylum and humanitarian relief, is more than four years. Appeals to those decisions contribute additional months to the lengthy legal process.
Moreover, many whose asylum claims have been rejected by the courts, which constitutes the large majority of claim decisions, decide to stay in the country. They often reside in places with few enforcement consequences for remaining illegally in the country and policies designed to assist unauthorized immigrants.
The estimated number of illegal immigrants currently living in America is more than 11 million, approximately one-quarter of the U.S. foreign-born population. In addition to those who are currently residing in the country, surges of people are attempting unauthorized entry into the country across the U.S.-Mexico border every day.
In September, Customs and Border Protection made a record-breaking 227,547 arrests at the southern border. During the 2022 fiscal year, federal authorities made more than 2.76 million immigration arrests along the southern border, marking the first time annual enforcement statistics have exceeded that threshold. That figure also far exceeds last year’s record of more than 1.96 million arrests. At least 599,000 of those arrests were “got-aways,” migrants who crossed the border and evaded authorities during the fiscal year.
Besides the arrests at the border, hundreds of thousands of foreign visitors overstay their temporary visas. For the fiscal year 2020, for example, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection estimated the total number of overstays at 685,000. Over the past decade, the annual number of visa overstays is estimated to have exceeded illegal border crossings by a ratio of about 2 to 1. The intentions of visa overstayers are similar to those who have unlawfully crossed the U.S. southern border, namely to join others they may know, secure employment and eventually acquire legal status permitting them to remain in the U.S.
Further complicating the dilemma are the decisions, policies and programs of states, counties and cities. At least 11 states have declared themselves to be “sanctuary states,” including California, Colorado, Washington and Oregon. Also, more than 180 cities and counties, including Boston, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco have indicated that they are sanctuary jurisdictions. Eighteen states and the District of Columbia have enacted laws to allow unauthorized immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses. Five states — California, Connecticut, Illinois, Utah and New York — provide identification cards to unauthorized immigrants.
With the active support and urging of advocacy organizations, those states, counties and cities have adopted laws, policies and practices of noncooperation with federal immigration authorities for the protection of illegal immigrants.
Irrespective of one’s view of illegal immigration, the demographic realities are strikingly clear: record numbers of unauthorized border crossings with millions more prepared to migrate illegally to America; large numbers of visa overstayers often exceeding the numbers of illegal border crossings and more than 11 million men, women and children currently residing unlawfully within the U.S.
Neither the continuing political paralysis in the country’s capital nor the shutting of one’s eyes to those compelling demographic realities will resolve America’s illegal immigration dilemma.
Joseph Chamie is an independent consulting demographer, a former director of the United Nations Population Division and author of numerous publications on population issues, including his recent book, “Births, Deaths, Migrations and Other Important Population Matters.”