- The Pew Research Center estimates there were 14 million "unauthorized" immigrants in the U.S. as of 2023, a record high.
- The figure for Utah rose to 140,000, 4.1% of its population and the 13th-highest concentration among the 50 states and Washington, D.C.
- The "unauthorized" population includes those who entered the United States illegally and others "with impermanent, precarious statuses."
WASHINGTON — Getting a solid handle on the number of immigrants in the country illegally can be a tough task.
Estimates range all over the place, depending on the source.
But the number of unauthorized immigrants, the term used by the Pew Research Center, reached an all-time high as of 2023, dating back at least to 1990, both for the United States as a whole and Utah, according to the research organization. The unauthorized population, as defined by Pew, includes those who have entered the United States illegally or overstayed a visa, as well as others "with impermanent, precarious statuses," including at least some asylum seekers.
The national estimate — 14 million, or 4.1% of the total U.S. population — reflects a jump of 3.5 million from 2021 to 2023, the biggest two-year increase in the unauthorized population on record, according to Pew. The prior record high occurred in 2007, when the unauthorized population reached 12.2 million, according to Pew, which released a report on its new estimates last week.
In Utah, the estimated population of unauthorized immigrants reached 140,000 for 2023, up from 120,000 in 2022 and 95,000 in 2021. The unauthorized population represented 4.1% of Utah's population, the same as the U.S. as a whole and the 13th highest concentration among the 50 U.S. states and Washington, D.C. Utah was sandwiched between Illinois in the 12th spot with a concentration of 4.4% and New York in 14th place at 4.1%, according to Pew.
Dating to 2005, the unauthorized immigration population in Utah had ranged between 95,000 and 110,000 until it edged past that in 2022 and 2023, before the national immigration crackdown led by President Donald Trump. Among the 50 states and Washington, D.C., 40 experienced increases in their unauthorized immigration populations from 2022 to 2023. The figures held steady in the rest.
Estimate for 2024 likely up, too
The 3.5 million jump 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," Pew said. The number of immigrations lacking full legal status but retaining some deportation protections rose from 2.7 million in 2021 to 6 million as of 2023, tracking with the big jump in the span. An estimated 8 million immigrants lacked any deportation protections.
The new estimates are based on U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey figures for 2023, "the most recent data available for a fully detailed estimate of unauthorized immigration," Pew said.
At any rate, the Washington, D.C.-based research organization suspects the unauthorized population "continued to increase rapidly" through at least mid-2024, surpassing 2023 levels. "From January to June 2025, the unauthorized immigrant population likely declined, possibly by as much as 1 million. However, as of July 2025, the unauthorized immigrant population almost surely remains higher than in July 2023, when we estimated that the population stood at 14 million," Pew said.
The unauthorized population includes groups whose deportation protections "are temporary and can quickly change," Pew said, alluding to recent changes in immigration policy under Trump, who has prioritized the deportation of immigrants in the country illegally.
Under Trump, who started his second term in January, some 500,000 parolees from Cuba, Haiti, Venezuela and Nicaragua have lost deportation protections and work permits while protections for 350,000 more Venezuelans and 350,000 more Haitians have been allowed to expire, Pew said. Also under Trump, U.S. immigration authorities have stopped accepting asylum applications at the U.S.-Mexico border, though the change faces a legal challenge.
Of the estimated 14 million unauthorized immigrants, 4.25 million come from Mexico, the largest bloc from any single country, and 10.35 million come from across Latin America. After Mexico, the countries with the largest numbers of unauthorized immigrants in the United States are Guatemala, 850,000; El Salvador, 850,000; Honduras, 775,000; and India, 680,000.
