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SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — A new study shows the number of immigrants in the U.S. illegally has fallen to 11 million since 2009, largely because of a drop-off in the number of Mexicans without legal status.
The Pew Research Center reports Tuesday there were about 11.3 million immigrants in the country illegally in 2009. The study is based on survey data from 2015.
The nonpartisan center says the number of Mexicans in the country illegally dropped to about 5.6 million from about 6.4 million during the six-year period.
Pew didn't give a reason for the decline. But in earlier reports it said the U.S. economy was slow to recover from the recession and border enforcement got stricter.
The report shows illegal immigration climbed during the 1990s and into the 2000s and peaked before the recession.
The number of immigrants in the U.S. illegally from Asia and Central America rose since 2009.
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