Unauthorized immigrant population in WA has grown, report says. Here’s how much
Washington’s unauthorized immigrant population grew by 25% between 2021 and 2023, a new report estimated.
That’s in line with national numbers for that group, which “reached an all-time high” in 2023 following “two consecutive years of record growth,” the Pew Research Center said.
The nonpartisan center released a report Aug. 21 that provides a view of immigration in the U.S. in recent years – as federal immigration policies have shifted, presidential administrations have changed, and polarizing national debate has continued.
The report, based on federal data, focuses largely on numbers from 2023, which are “the most recent available for developing a comprehensive and detailed estimate,” per the research center.
However, the report also sheds some light on the current immigration picture. How many unauthorized immigrants live in the U.S.?
About 14 million unauthorized immigrants were estimated to be living in the U.S. in 2023, according to the report.
That amounts to about 4.1% of the total U.S. population that year, per the report.
Between 2021 and 2023, the unauthorized immigrant population grew 33% in the U.S., the report estimated.
The term “unauthorized immigrant” covers “a complex array of statuses,” per the report, including people with some temporary protection from deportation, such as asylum seekers.
A person is considered to be an unauthorized immigrant if they’re not in any of these groups, per the report: • Green card holder
• Refugee who’s been “formally admitted”
• Asylum grantee
• Someone granted legal residence via the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act
• Naturalized U.S. citizen
• Temporary legal resident under certain visa categories, including foreign student and guest worker
How many unauthorized immigrants live in Washington?
In Washington, the unauthorized immigrant population was estimated to be 375,000 in 2023, the report said.
That was about 4.6% of the state’s total population that year.
It also represents an increase from an estimated 325,000 unauthorized immigrants in 2022 and 300,000 the year before that, per the report.
While the Evergreen State was toward the higher end, several other states had far bigger populations in 2023, including California at 2.3 million, Texas at 2.1 million and Florida at 1.6 million, according to the report.
What about current numbers?
Nationally, the increase in the number of unauthorized immigrants between 2021 and 2023 was largely driven by growth in a subgroup: people with some deportation protection, the report said.
That subgroup ballooned “following policy changes made by the Biden administration that allowed many immigrants to arrive in the U.S. with protected status and others to gain protection shortly after arriving,” the report said, referencing U.S. President Joe Biden, who served in office from 2021 to 2025.
Overall, growth in the total number of unauthorized immigrants continued its record pace through the start of 2024, the report said, citing preliminary data.
But “after mid-2024, policy decisions spanning the Biden and Trump administrations again changed this population. Growth slowed considerably in the last half of 2024 after the Biden administration stopped accepting asylum applications at the border and paused parole programs,” it said. President Donald Trump took office Jan. 20.
This year, “the unauthorized immigrant population has probably started to decline, due in part to increased deportations and reduced protections under the Trump administration,” the report said.
It noted that, as of mid year, that population is likely still above 2023 levels, though “the full impact of these policy shifts” won’t be known until more data is available.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has deported almost 200,000 people since Trump was sworn into office for his second term as president, according to CNN.