Connecticut’s unauthorized immigrant population estimates

The Migration Policy Institute (MPI) released its latest comprehensive estimates of the unauthorized immigrant population in the United States.

Connecticut’s unauthorized population was 113,000, or roughly 3.2% of the state’s total population.  61,000 live in Fairfield County.  Of the total, 55% have been in the U.S. for 10 or more years. The largest share come from Mexico and Central America (36%), followed by South America (33%), and Asia (13%).  Detailed demographics are here.

The U.S. total was estimated at 11 million in 2018.  Roughly half of the unauthorized immigrants live in California, Texas, and New York, where they accounted for approximately 6.9%, 6.0% and 9.9% of the total population, respectively. The unauthorized population peaked in 2007, just before the great recession, at 12.3 million and then declined to about 10.2 million in 2010-2012.  Since then, the total has increased slightly.