According to the Pew Research Center’s new report, based on U.S. Census data, 8 million illegal aliens are currently working in the U.S. The report shows that number has not significantly changed since increasing in 2009 as the U.S. economy began to recover from the Great Recession.
The data shows that in the 1990s illegal aliens in the U.S, workforce increased from below 3% to 5.4% before the financial crash. Since 2009 the percentage of illegal aliens in the workforce has declined only slightly from 5.2% to 5%.
One reason for this stabilization has been Pres. Obama’s executive orders which have saved at least 10% of illegal aliens from deportation. Over a million illegal aliens have received work permits under Pres. Obama’s DACA amnesty.
While illegal aliens are only 3.5% of the total U.S. population they make up around 5% of the labor force and illegal alien men are more likely than U.S.-born or legal immigrant men to find work according to Pew.
Some states with high illegal alien populations such as California and Nevada have seen a slight decline in unauthorized labor since 2009. Seven states including Louisiana, Minnesota, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Utah, Virginia, and Washington have seen an increase in illegal aliens in the workforce.
The report also shows that over a quarter of all farmworkers and about 15% of construction workers are illegal aliens.
Read more on this story at The Washington Examiner.
