One out of every 7 Asian immigrants is undocumented

[updated September 8, 2017 to include the latest population estimates of Asian undocumented. Additional infographics can be found here]

BY KARTHICK RAMAKRISHNAN AND SONO SHAH

The issue of undocumented immigration has dominated news coverage and policy discussions, with the Trump administration passing an executive order on interior enforcement in early 2017 and, more recently, threatening to suspend federal funding to sanctuary jurisdictions and announcing an end to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). How might Asian immigrant communities be affected?

According to the latest available estimates, there are about 1.7 million Asian undocumented immigrants in the United States. To put those numbers in perspective, they account for about 16%, or 1 out of every 6, undocumented immigrants in the United States. This also means that about 1 out of every 7 Asian immigrants is undocumented.

The Center for Migration Studies (CMS) and and the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) have published the most recent estimates of the Asian undocumented population in the United States. The total number of Asian undocumented ranges from 1.46 million (MPI, 2014) to 1.74 million (CMS, 2015). The tables below are from the Center for Migration Studies 2015 estimates.

National Estimates, 2015

Group	Population (2015)	Share of Total (%)
1. Total Undocumented	11,042,503
2. Asian Undocumented	1,737,635	15.70
3. Total Asian Foreign Born	11,519,210
4. Asian Undocumented	1,737,635	15.08

Importantly, the Asian undocumented population has more than tripled within 15 years, from the INS estimate of 500,000 Asian unauthorized in 2000 to the CMS estimates of over 1.7 million in 2015. By contrast, the Mexican unauthorized population grew by only 21% during the same period, from about 4.8 million in 2000 to 5.8 million in 2015.

Country of Origin, 2015

India and China account for the largest share of the Asian undocumented (26% and 22%, respectively), followed by the Philippines (14%), South Korea (10%), Vietnam (7%), and Pakistan (3%). The remaining countries from Asia account for 17% of the Asian undocumented population.

State Estimates, 2015

According to both CMS and MPI estimates, California, New York, New Jersey, Texas and Illinois are the states with the largest number of Asian undocumented, with MPI and CMS only differing on the order of New Jersey and Texas for the third and fourth largest states. The 2015 estimates from Center for Migration Studies (CMS) are provided below. The share of the Asian immigrant population that is undocumented varies widely across states, with states like Georgia, Colorado, New Jersey, and Hawaii having relatively high shares of Asian immigrants who are undocumented.

State Name	Asian Undocumented (2015)	Asian Foreign Born (2015)	Undocumented Share of Asian Immigrants
Alabama	7,009	42,381	16.54
Alaska	5,110	31,725	16.11
Arizona	23,099	147,893	15.62
Arkansas	4,996	30,881	16.18
California	463,310	3,572,239	12.97
Colorado	20,687	104,144	19.86
Connecticut	18,907	112,000	16.88
Delaware	6,210	26,686	23.27
Florida	56,987	382,569	14.90
Georgia	54,206	269,585	20.11
Hawaii	37,444	199,065	18.81
Idaho	1,989	13,850	14.36
Illinois	71,403	464,109	15.38
Indiana	17,364	99,651	17.42
Iowa	6,936	48,532	14.29
Kansas	9,897	57,540	17.20
Kentucky	4,693	42,912	10.94
Louisiana	9,774	51,407	19.01
Maryland	35,124	266,548	13.18
Massachusetts	43,946	297,513	14.77
Michigan	32,515	207,511	15.67
Minnesota	18,389	162,681	11.30
Mississippi	2,004	19,532	10.26
Missouri	12,522	81,430	15.38
Nebraska	6,492	30,026	21.62
Nevada	22,528	149,543	15.06
New Hampshire	4,467	23,894	18.70
New Jersey	115,680	600,457	19.27
New Mexico	5,588	18,534	30.15
New York	166,806	1,181,787	14.11
North Carolina	30,033	184,252	16.30
North Dakota	1,553	8,412	18.46
Ohio	26,994	168,917	15.98
Oklahoma	10,736	55,292	19.42
Oregon	15,075	110,382	13.66
Pennsylvania	53,096	296,952	17.88
Rhode Island	3,775	22,687	16.64
South Carolina	6,609	50,291	13.14
South Dakota	5,152	9,149	56.31
Tennessee	12,880	75,042	17.16
Texas	148,612	869,716	17.09
Utah	7,014	43,073	16.28
Vermont	1,079	6,204	17.39
Virginia	58,218	363,632	16.01
Washington	58,184	382,131	15.23
West Virginia	1,256	9,725	12.92
Wisconsin	12,611	90,038	14.01

Finally, in most states, Asians make up relatively small portions of their total undocumented population. Still, there are six states where Asian immigrants account for a third or more of the undocumented resident population.

State Name	Total Undocumented (2015)	Asian Undocumented (2015)	Asian Share of Undocumented
Alabama	61,865	7,009	11.30
Alaska	7,230	5,110	70.70
Arizona	256,286	23,099	9.00
Arkansas	60,205	4,996	8.30
California	2,598,870	463,310	17.80
Colorado	181,712	20,687	11.40
Connecticut	124,728	18,907	15.20
Delaware	26,784	6,210	23.20
Florida	745,250	56,987	7.60
Georgia	361,421	54,206	15.00
Hawaii	47,169	37,444	79.40
Idaho	33,163	1,989	6.00
Illinois	515,686	71,403	13.80
Indiana	99,326	17,364	17.50
Iowa	45,555	6,936	15.20
Kansas	78,322	9,897	12.60
Kentucky	45,175	4,693	10.40
Louisiana	62,164	9,774	15.70
Maryland	239,787	35,124	14.60
Massachusetts	154,395	43,946	28.50
Michigan	96,178	32,515	33.80
Minnesota	96,909	18,389	19.00
Mississippi	24,342	2,004	8.20
Missouri	54,856	12,522	22.80
Nebraska	38,751	6,492	16.80
Nevada	175,947	22,528	12.80
New Hampshire	11,541	4,467	38.70
New Jersey	450,516	115,680	25.70
New Mexico	73,942	5,588	7.60
New York	806,366	166,806	20.70
North Carolina	315,392	30,033	9.50
North Dakota	2,184	1,553	71.10
Ohio	85,971	26,994	31.40
Oklahoma	100,901	10,736	10.60
Oregon	117,066	15,075	12.90
Pennsylvania	162,075	53,096	32.80
Rhode Island	21,633	3,775	17.50
South Carolina	78,820	6,609	8.40
South Dakota	11,810	5,152	43.60
Tennessee	120,250	12,880	10.70
Texas	1,758,199	148,612	8.50
Utah	94,711	7,014	7.40
Vermont	3,765	1,079	28.70
Virginia	247,893	58,218	23.50
Washington	246,074	58,184	23.60
West Virginia	1,921	1,256	65.40
Wisconsin	79,206	12,611	15.90

These data reveal the extent to which Asian immigrant communities are affected, nationally and in various states. Hopefully, this information can also inform better policy decisions and philanthropic decisions affecting the undocumented immigrant population in the United States.

Methodology

Estimating the undocumented population is a complex challenge that requires researchers to make assumptions about certain groups and behaviors in order to take existing data to generate population estimates. Both sets of estimates rely on data from the American Community Survey and then make statistical adjustments to account for sampling and response bias. Click below to learn more about the methodology used by Migration Policy Institute and Center for Migration Studies