FAIR: The Illegal Alien Population in the United States Has Now Reached an All-Time High of 18.6 Million

WASHINGTON, March 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) now estimates that 18.6 million illegal aliens are living in the United States, an all-time high. That figure represents an 11 percent increase since FAIR's last estimate of 16.8 million in June 2023, and a 28.2 percent increase over the four years of the Biden administration. In addition to record numbers of people crossing our borders illegally, the previous administration granted parole and opened Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to millions of illegal aliens, allowing them to settle in the country.

The surge in illegal immigration was so large that the U.S. Census Bureau announced just three months ago it has changed its methodology for estimating the foreign-born population to account for it. By its own admission, between July 2021 and July 2022, the Census Bureau missed a net foreign migration of roughly 700,000 people, revising its estimate upward by nearly 70 percent, or from 1 million to 1.7 million. From July 2022 to July 2023, the Census Bureau revised its estimate upward again by an extraordinary 101.7 percent, adding 1.15 million more foreign nationals to its initial estimate of 1.13 million. And between July 2023 and July 2024, the Census Bureau estimated that net international migration had reached nearly 2.8 million for that 12-month period, a completely unprecedented total. 

FAIR took these revised Census Bureau estimates of the foreign-born population and produced a new estimate of the illegal alien population, which FAIR estimates now stands at 18.6 million.

"Americans have seen the impact of the illegal immigration crisis play out in their communities all across the country. This new report provides hard data on the enormity of the illegal immigration surge that took place as a result of policies put in place by the Biden administration," said Dan Stein, president of FAIR.

Among the driving forces behind the huge increases in the illegal alien population were decisions to terminate successful policies that were in place when President Biden came into office, such as Remain in Mexico and cooperative asylum agreements with Central American governments. At the same time the previous administration loosened restrictions for claiming asylum, it launched massive and illegal parole programs and reinstituted catch-and-release policies, all but assuring illegal migrants that they would be allowed into the United States.

"Since taking office, the Trump administration has taken decisive steps to reduce the influx of illegal aliens across the border. But this new report demonstrates just how much damage has been done and highlights the need to revoke parole and TPS for those who should not have received it and step up the effort to remove millions of people who should not be here," Stein concluded.

The full text of the report, How Many Illegal Aliens Are in the United States? 2025 Update, can be found here.

Contact: Joey Chester, [email protected] or 202-740-7355

SOURCE Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR)