Pew Research says the United States’ unauthorized immigrant population reached 14 million in 2023, the highest level ever recorded, according to a comprehensive analysis released Thursday morning.

“This report presents estimates of the number of unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. as of July 2023, a revised estimate for 2022, and for previous years back to 1990. These estimates supersede all previously published Pew Research Center estimates,” Pew notes at the top of the 50-page report.

“The increase from 2021 to 2023 was driven primarily by growth in the number of unauthorized immigrants who were living in the U.S. with some protections from deportation, such as immigrants paroled into the country and asylum seekers,” the report says. “About 6 million immigrants without full legal status had some protection from deportation in 2023, up from 2.7 million in 2021. In 2007, when the total unauthorized immigrant population was at its previous high (12.2 million), about 500,000 had some protection from deportation.”

While the study focuses on 2023 estimates, it also says that “through early 2024, the overall unauthorized immigrant population continued to grow at a record pace,” explaining that “after mid-2024, policy decisions spanning the Biden and Trump administrations again changed this population.”

“Growth slowed considerably in the last half of 2024 after the Biden administration stopped accepting asylum applications at the border and paused parole programs,” it adds. “In 2025, the unauthorized immigrant population has probably started to decline, due in part to increased deportations and reduced protections under the Trump administration. As of mid-2025, the unauthorized immigrant population likely remains above 2023 levels. Still, we won’t know the full impact of these policy shifts until more complete data becomes available.”

Later in the report, Pew provides estimates about the country’s overall immigrant population, explaining that “unauthorized immigrants represented 4.1% of the total U.S. population” as of 2023 and “27% of the foreign-born population.”

“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,” the report continues. “However, growth slowed substantially starting in early 2024, and the number declined by more than 1 million between January and June 2025, according to data from the Current Population Survey.”

“This would be the first sustained drop in the U.S. immigrant population since the 1960s,” the report says.

You can access the full report here, along with takeaways from 2024 here.

Artificial Intelligence and Latino Journalists: From Nicole Acevedo of NBC News, “A network of nearly 90 TikTok accounts has been using artificial intelligence to create fake versions of high-profile Spanish-language journalists and spread falsehoods online for potential financial gain.”

Julio Ricardo Varela is the founder of The Latino Newsletter. He is also its current part-time publisher and executive director. Email him here.

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