Illegal Immigrant Census Down For First Time Since 2007

Census data gathered in 2009 shows there are nearly 1
million less illegal immigrants living in the U.S.

It's the first drop in illegal population since the year
1990, when a rising trend began that peaked 17 years later,
according to research by the Pew Hispanic Center and the
Department of Homeland Security.

The decrease amounts to a decline of 8 percent - 11.1
million - down from a peak of 12 million in 2007.

Illegal immigrants now number about what they did in the
year 2005.

Though babies born to illegal immigrants make up half the
birth rate, the number of deportations is at an all time
high of 389,000 people, according to the study.

Unemployment among illegals is at an all-time high of 10.4
percent, a point higher than U.S.-born workers, who are
unemployed at a perentage of 9.2 percent for U.S. born and
9.1 percent for legal immigrants.

Illegal immigrants still make up 28 percent of foreign-
born population, down from 31 percent in 2005.

The most significant drop in population is shown among il-
legalimmigrants from Central America and the Caribbean
states, something government and private researchers attri-
bute to a sour economy and a high rate of unemployment.

States with the highest population of illegal immigrants are
California with 6.9 percent, Nevada at 6.8 percent and Texas
with 6.5 percent.

That number is expected to play a big role in whether states
gain or lose seats in the House of Representatives during
the redistricting battles of the coming session of the state
legislatures and Congress.