First on Fox: The number of illegal immigrants in the United States rose 11% in under two years, is estimated to have skyrocketed to over 18 million after the Biden-era border crisis, according to a new research report from the Hawkish Immigrant Group.
This report was prepared by the United States Federation of Immigration Reform (FAIR). As of March 2025, it estimates there are approximately 18.6 million illegal immigrants living in the United States.
This is 11% higher than the estimate published in June 2023 that found 16.8 million illegal immigrants. Overall, we estimate that the population has increased by 4.1 million or 28.2% since December 2020.
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“As of 2025, the growth in the United States is both legal and illegal, and comes from high levels of immigration, almost entirely and sustainably,” the report states.
President Donald Trump is working on a joint Congressional session at the US Capitol in Washington, DC on March 4, 2025 (Get McNamee/Getty Images)
Fair estimates include approximately 11.7 million illegal immigrants in 2013.
This group includes anyone who does not have a legal status, such as visas or permanent residence, as illegal immigrants, especially those who may be illegally in the country, but are given legal presence, such as temporary protected status or humanitarian parole.
The Biden administration dramatically expanded the use of humanitarian parole as a way to spike illegal border crossings. This allowed immigrants to cross the border after scheduling appointments on the CBP One app for parole, and there was a parole program that allowed immigrants to fly with travel approval.
Fair argues that despite their description as having a “legal being,” they do not have legal status and therefore cannot be counted as legally in the country.
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“Counting an individual in these circumstances as a 'legal immigrant' or 'legal residents' is both a false characteristic of both immigration law's bias and bias,” the group argues.
Former Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas led the department during the 2021-2024 border crisis. (Getty Images)
The report estimates the total number of illegal immigrants by using census data to cover up those who arrive illegally and supplement what they insist on calculating about 40%.
The report also acknowledges that “estimating the size, distribution and characteristics of an illegal alien population is an inaccurate science.”
“In fact, we don't know exactly how many people illegally cross the border and avoid immigration authorities. And no one can accurately quantify stocks or tras. We can't estimate only these figures based on annual and monthly census data,” the report states.
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They argue that the key factors driving the surge in numbers are Biden-era policies, including borders, the release of immigrants to the US, and what it claims.
The Trump administration, which took office in January, overturned many Biden policies and shut down parole policies and the use of the CBP One app. It also launched a massive deportation campaign inside, simultaneously deploying military forces to borders, and declared a national emergency.
The administration has since touted a sharp decline in numbers at the border.
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In February there were 8,326 tropical border encounters, falling from 189,913 in February 2024. So far, it has removed more than 55,000 illegal immigrants from the United States.
“Within a few hours of proclamation of duties, I declared a national emergency on the southern border, deployed US troops and border patrols to fight back our country's invasions, and the work they did. As a result, last month, illegal border intersections were recorded at the lowest ever.
“They heard me, but they chose not to come.”
