How many illegal aliens really reside in America?

Stale US government estimates of the numbers of illegal aliens residing in the United States are suspect. They undoubtedly represent significant undercounts, as they are produced by the very entity responsible for the tidal wave of illegal aliens entering our nation.

The Department of Homeland Security estimated in December 2003 that 8 million to 12 million illegal aliens resided in the United States and 700,000 new illegals enter and stay each year. As of 2014, those estimates have not changed for eleven years, even though the official annual increase alone would yield an corrected estimate of 15.7 million to 19.7 million illegal aliens today (not adjusting for Obama's unconstitutional 2014 executive amnesty). 

An alternative methodology has been used to produce a much more realistic estimate of the number of illegal aliens. This estimate is based on Border Patrol apprehension rates and estimates of the number of ilegals that escaped apprehension - referred to by Border Patrol agents as "got aways".

Read the overview of this analysis with links to several studies using alternate approaches: How many illegal aliens reside in the United States?

Read the detailed analysis: How many illegal aliens reside in the United States? A methodology using Border Patrol "got away" statistics, by Fred Elbel.