❓WHAT HAPPENED: Almost 19 million illegal immigrants are now estimated to be living in the United States, according to the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR).
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: FAIR, former President Joe Biden, and GOP leaders.
📍WHEN & WHERE: The report was released on Wednesday, with data reflecting changes during the former Biden government.
💬KEY QUOTE: “Since our December 2020 estimate, the illegal alien population in the United States has grown by 4.1 million, or 28.2 percent, reflecting an unprecedented wave of illegal immigration during the Biden administration.” — FAIR.
🎯IMPACT: The growing illegal immigrant population is increasing pressure on GOP leaders and shaping immigration enforcement debates ahead of the 2026 mid-term elections.
New data released by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) reveals that the number of illegal immigrants living in the United States swelled to almost 19 million under former President Joe Biden, a number that underscores the difficult task facing the Trump administration in order to correct course. According to a report released by FAIR, since December 2020, there has been a 28.2 percent increase in the number of illegal immigrants in the U.S. This amounts to around 4.1 million new illegal immigrants.
“Since our December 2020 estimate, the illegal alien population in the United States has grown by 4.1 million, or 28.2 percent, reflecting an unprecedented wave of illegal immigration during the Biden administration,” FAIR states, adding, “As of 2025, American population growth comes almost entirely from unsustainably high levels of immigration, both legal and illegal.”
The FAIR data comes just as the White House appears to be reversing course on President Donald J. Trump‘s mass deportation pledge. The National Pulse reported on Tuesday that in a private meeting, James Blair, the White House Deputy Chief of Staff, encouraged House Republicans to adjust how they discuss immigration. He suggested shifting away from talk of “mass deportations” and narrowing the administration’s efforts to deport only known criminals.
This sentiment was echoed by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), who also stated on Tuesday, “We got a little hiccup with some of the Hispanic and Latino voters, for certain, because some of the immigration enforcement was viewed to be overzealous. But here’s the good news: we’re in a course correction mode right now.”
FAIR’s estimate includes individuals who entered the country illegally but were granted temporary documentation under policies from the Biden government. The group also criticized the Census Bureau‘s revised methodology for counting the foreign-born population, arguing that it has led to significant undercounting of illegal immigrants in official data. FAIR noted that the 2023 American Community Survey and Current Population Survey rely on outdated pre-revision estimates, which fail to capture the true scale of the illegal immigrant population.
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