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Illegal Immigrant Population Increased by 1 Million in Biden’s First Year

The number of illegal immigrants living in the United States increased by approximately a million in the first year of the Biden administration, and cost the American taxpayer an additional $9.4 billion, according to a new analysis by a conservative group.

The study, an early copy of which was obtained by Fox News Digital, was written by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) which advocates for lower levels of immigration overall.

The study estimates that there are approximately 15.5 million immigrants living in the U.S. illegally, up from 14.5 million in 2020. Other estimates have typically put that number at around 11 million for years, but immigration hawks have expressed skepticism that the number has stayed flat given the increased activity at the border.

FAIR’s analysis also conducted a fiscal cost study, finding that illegal immigrants are imposing a net fiscal burden of at least $143.1 billion – an increase of $9.4 billion over 2020.

The group puts the increase in population down to two factors – the first being the improvement of the U.S. economy as it re-opens after COVID-19.

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The second factor is the policies of the administration, which rolled back a number of Trump-era border policies and narrowed the scope of interior enforcement. FAIR claims that Biden “has effectively abolished the mission of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), preventing the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) from securing our southern border, and implementing measures that encourage mass illegal immigration.”

The report points to the narrowed interior enforcement, the ending of the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), ending of border wall construction, continued designations of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and promising amnesty for illegal immigrants already in the country as part of an immigration reform proposal.

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The report says the states with the most illegal immigrants are California (3.3 million), Texas (2.2 million), Florida (1.2 million) and New York (1.1 million.) {snip}

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