Citizenship and Immigration Statistics: U.S.: Undocumented Immigrants

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is responsible for the apprehension or arrest, detention, return, and removal of aliens, or undocumented immigrants, from the United States. Aliens may be removable from the United States for violations including illegally entering the country, failing to abide by the terms and conditions of admission, or committing crimes.

Primary responsibility for the enforcement of immigration law within DHS rests with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). CBP is generally responsible for immigration enforcement at and between the ports of entry, and ICE is generally responsible for interior enforcement, and detention and removal operations. USCIS is generally responsible for the administration of immigration and naturalization functions.

While the Department of Homeland Security is responsible for enforcing immigration law in the United States, the U.S. Census Bureau also collects data on undocumented immigrants, primarily via the American Community Survey (ACS). This survey includes a question on citizenship status. Responses to this question are used to divide the foreign-born population into naturalized citizens and noncitizens.

Clink on the links below to view DataSheets comprising statistical abstracts complete with infographics of statistics on the noncitizen foreign-born population in the United States in Data Planet Statistical Datasets. Explore other statistics on citizenship as well as relationships between these statistics and other indicators in Data Planet. 

• Foreign-born males in the United States under age 18 who are not U.S. citizens
• Foreign-born males in the United States over age 18 who are not U.S. citizens
• Foreign-born females in the United States under age 18 vs over age 18 who are not U.S. citizens
• Noncitizen removals by country of nationality
• Noncitizens deemed inadmissible by country of nationality

Use Data Planet to compare and contrast statistics on the noncitizen foreign-born population in the United States. The powerful functionality of the platform allows you to select multiple indicators, revealing interesting potential areas for further research. To select multiple indicators, check off the boxes to add a second (or third) item in the criteria panel. Click here for more information on Data Planet.

This chart compares the count of population of noncitizens over age 18 who speak English very well and less than very well:

For example, the chart below compares the median age of the native male population against that of the noncitizen male population in 10 states:

The ranking below shows the top 10 states with the highest noncitizen population:

The map below shows the distribution of noncitizens without health insurance coverage across Colorado counties:

The ranking below compares means of transportation to work by noncitizens in New York:

...And much, much, more! Browse the listing of American Community Survey indicators to explore more detailed information on how socioeconomic characteristics of the U.S. population vary by citizenship status.