As the old saying goes, there are lies, there are damn lies, and then there are statistics. One of the statistics routinely repeated by politicians and the media for years is that there are 11 million illegal aliens in the U.S. In recent years, more people have started questioning this number, how it was arrived at, and most importantly, why it hasn't changed. A new report finds the data behind the 11 million claim is seriously flawed, and the actual number of illegal immigrants in the U.S. may be as much as 35 million.
Getting an accurate count of illegal aliens living in the U.S. is more important than ever, with President Biden pushing for amnesty for at least a portion of them. But the number has remained a source of debate and mystery for years. "The fact of the matter is it's very likely we won't ever know how many there are, but what we do know is there can't just possibly be 11 million in a static state for 10 to 15 years," says Todd Bensman, senior fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies. "For example, we know that in 2019 alone almost a million immigrants came illegally across the border, and stayed."
"I'm sort of in the ballpark that it's 20 million or 25 million," he continues. "But definitely it is a population that has risen and will continue to rise for the foreseeable future."
Ironically, the best way to find out how many illegals are here might be the Biden amnesty plan. "If you do offer a blanket amnesty like they're talking about, all of those people will step forward to claim it," says Bensman. "And then we'll be able to count them."
Photo: AFP