Unauthorized Indians in US increased by 64 percent in last 10 years

This increase in the number of unauthorized immigrants from India in the US has been in sharp contrast to an overall decline in the undocumented population by 7 percent in 2009. 

The majority of undocumented immigrants living in the US are from Latin America, says the DHS (Department of Homeland Security) report. 

Mexico, with 62 percent illegals in the US, tops the list of being the maximum sender of illegals (6.7 million) into the country. It is followed by El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and the Philippines which account for 530,000, 480,000, 320,000 and 270,000 unauthorized immigrants respectively in the US. 

India currently ranks as the sixth country in terms of number of undocumented immigrants in the US. Presently, there are 200,000 unauthorized Indians living in the US while the overall percentage of illegal immigrants from India in the US is just 2 percent. 

Decline in the overall unauthorized population in US—

The report which studied the census data and estimates from total overseas residents living in the US says America saw a decline in the number of unauthorized residents in country by 1 million between 2007 till 2009, the same period when the country was hit badly by global economic crisis.  

Apart from global economic downturn, other reasons for decline in the rate of unauthorized immigration in the US can be due to strict immigration policies of the country and severe crackdown on unauthorized immigrants resulting in their deportations.  

The DHS report says the unauthorized living in the US declined by 7 percent between January 2008 and January 2009 taking the numbers to 10.8 million. And nearly 8.5 million undocumented population in the US in 2009 was from countries including Canada, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, followed by the regions of Asia (980,000) and South America (740,000).