Number of Mexican immigrants in the US illegally declines

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pew Research Center has estimated that the number of Mexican immigrants in the U.S. illegally has declined so sharply over the past decade that they no longer make up the majority in that category.

There were about 4.9 million Mexicans living in the U.S. illegally in 2017, down 2 million from 2007. The decrease was the major driver in bringing down the overall population of immigrants in the country illegally. In 2017 it was about 10.5 million. The research group found the peak was in 2007 at about 12.2 million.

Pew based the estimates on government data.

Their research found that long term residents outnumber more recent arrivals. There are also fewer people working who are not legally allowed to be in the country.