3.21.2002

How Many Undocumented

The Numbers Behind The U.S.-Mexico Migration Talks

by B. Lindsay Lowell and Roberto Suro

There are more than 5 million unauthorized workers in the U.S. economy. This study estimates that these workers have become a very substantial presence in the sectors where they are concentrated. More than a million undocumented persons are employed in manufacturing and a similar number in the service industries. More than 600,000 work in construction and more than 700,000 in restaurants.

Other Resources

Estimating the Distribution of Undocumented Workers in the Urban Labor Force: Technical Memorandum to "How many undocumented: The numbers behind the U.S.-Mexico Migration Talks"
by B. Lindsay Lowell and Richard Fry, The Pew Hispanic Center

More on Immigration

Latinos and the 2010 Census: The Foreign Born Are More Positive

Between Two Worlds: How Young Latinos Come of Age in America

Mexican Immigrants: How Many Come? How Many Leave?

Hispanics and Arizona’s New Immigration Law

Statistical Portrait of Hispanics in the United States, 2008