A recent study by the Pew Research Center indicates that Indians constitute the third-largest group among illegal immigrants in the US, numbering around 725,000. Mexico and El Salvador precede India in this list.
The research highlights that the total unauthorized immigrant population in the US from countries other than Mexico witnessed rapid growth, reaching 6.4 million in 2021—an increase of 900,000 since 2017. This group represents approximately three percent of the total US population and 22 percent of the foreign-born population.
Data from the US Customs and Border Protection reveals a substantial number of undocumented Indian immigrants crossing the US borders, with 6,917 Indians apprehended, expelled, or denied entry between October 2022 and September 2023. The influx of undocumented Indians surged after the opening of borders due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with 97,000 encounters this year, including 30,010 at the Canadian border and 41,770 at the Southern border.
About 7.8 million unauthorized immigrants were part of the US labor force in 2021, showing a slight increase from 2019 but smaller than every year from 2007 through 2015. California, Texas, Florida, New York, New Jersey, and Illinois reported the highest numbers of unauthorized immigrants. Only Florida and Washington saw increases, while California and Nevada experienced decreases.
The study also notes that the lawful immigrant population grew by over 8 million (29% increase), and the number of naturalized US citizens increased by 49%, accounting for about half of all immigrants in the country in 2021.
