The Patriot Post® · How Many Illegal Aliens Live in America?

The most frequently cited number of illegal aliens in the U.S. is 11 million. But where does that number originate? According to William Campenni at The Daily Signal, “Three main players were involved in generating that number of 11 million illegal immigrants: Pew Research Center, the Center for Immigration Studies and the Department of Homeland Security. But they were only masseurs of the source data, which comes from the Census Bureau by means of two surveys: the Current Population Survey and the American Community Survey.” Campenni argues that in reality no one knows what the number is because illegals often sneak across the border; they’re not checking in when they come. He adds, “Sarah Saldana, who runs Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the chief deportation agency and part of Homeland Security, testified Dec. 2 before Congress that the illegal population could be as high as 15 million.” Furthermore, “In 2005, a Bear Stearns study estimated the total number of illegal immigrants at 20 million using other data perhaps more valid than sole reliance on Census Bureau surveys.” What if, 11 years later, that number is far higher still? In short, there’s really no sure way to know, but those invested in amnesty have an incentive to make the number as low as possible.