Illegal Immigration’s Decline Is a Lesson for Immigration Reform

Jena McNeill / February 17, 2010

The Department of Homeland Security recently published a report on the total population of illegal immigrants in the U.S.  The conclusion: the overall illegal immigrant population decreased from 11.6 million to 10.8 million in 2008, down further from 11.8 million in 2007.

As both the DHS report and an earlier report by the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) indicate, this decline in illegal immigrant numbers within the U.S. coincides directly with the recent economic downturn and increased enforcement measures to encourage illegal immigrants to go home in 2005-2008.   Facing economic challenges and decreased incentives to stay in the U.S., illegal immigrants have seemingly self-deported, indicating that lessening the economic incentives to illegal immigration presents one avenue for solving America’s immigration problem. In fact, according to the same CIS report, the number of illegal immigrants voluntarily returning home has more than doubled since 2007, compared to earlier in the decade. (more…)