CLT Civil Discourse Roundtable · Policy Focus: Issue One
A nonpartisan, data-driven resource for substantive immigration policy dialogue.
Two-thirds (66%) of undocumented immigrants have lived in the U.S. for more than 10 years. 40% entered legally on a valid visa and overstayed — they were never "border crossers." More than three-quarters (77%) of all foreign-born U.S. residents are here legally. The public debate, focused almost entirely on the southern border, frequently misrepresents the actual composition of the immigrant population.
Estimated total (millions). Shaded band shows range across Pew, DHS, and Center for Migration Studies.
Sources: Pew Research Center, DHS, Center for Migration Studies
Entry method of the current undocumented population — not annual flow.
Source: Center for Migration Studies of New York
Encounters ≠ individuals who remain in U.S. — the majority are returned or removed.
Source: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
Of ~1 million new lawful permanent residents, the vast majority come through family relationships.
Source: DHS Yearbook of Immigration Statistics
Border Flow
The border encounter numbers tell a complex story of economic cycles, policy changes, and geopolitical events — not a simple story of ever-increasing crisis.
Color indicates policy era. The 1986 Reagan IRCA amnesty, post-9/11 enforcement surge, 2008 recession drop, and 2022 post-COVID peak are all clearly visible.
Source: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
In 2000, nearly all border crossers were Mexican nationals. By 2023, Mexico's share had dropped dramatically as Central American, Venezuelan, and other nationalities increased.
Source: CBP Office of Field Operations
Among people who became undocumented in recent years, visa overstays now outnumber illegal border crossings as a source of new unauthorized residents.
Source: DHS, Center for Migration Studies
Border encounters are driven by push factors (conditions in sending countries), pull factors (U.S. labor demand, family ties), policy changes (Title 42, Remain in Mexico, asylum rules), and measurement changes. The FY2022 record of 2.21 million and the FY2025 low of 238,000 both reflect specific policy and geopolitical conditions — not a permanent trend in either direction.
Who Is Here
The data consistently reveals a population that is older, longer-established, and more legally present than public debate suggests.
Two-thirds of undocumented immigrants have lived in the U.S. for more than a decade.
Source: Pew Research Center
Of all 50.2 million foreign-born U.S. residents, more than three-quarters are here legally.
Source: Pew Research Center, U.S. Census Bureau
Undocumented workers are concentrated in agriculture, construction, and food service — sectors where labor shortages would be immediate after large-scale deportation.
Source: Pew Research Center, Bureau of Labor Statistics
Mexico remains the largest single source country, but its share has declined significantly over two decades.
Source: Pew Research Center
An estimated 4.4 million U.S. citizen children have at least one undocumented parent. Deportation of parents directly affects millions of American citizens.
Approximately 10.9 million people live in mixed-status households — families where some members are citizens or legal residents and others are not.
Roughly 580,000 people are currently protected under DACA — brought to the U.S. as children. Average age of arrival: 6 years old.
Legal Immigration
The U.S. legal immigration system is complex, heavily backlogged, and structured around family ties, employment, and humanitarian need. Understanding its structure is essential to any serious reform discussion.
Family-based immigration dominates. Employment-based and humanitarian categories make up the remainder.
Source: DHS Yearbook of Immigration Statistics
Annual naturalizations — immigrants becoming U.S. citizens. The COVID dip in 2020–2021 is clearly visible.
Source: USCIS
| Category | Status | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Tourist / Business Visitor (B-1/B-2) | Temporary | Up to 6 months; must leave when authorized period expires |
| Student (F-1) | Temporary | Duration of academic program; limited work authorization |
| Skilled Worker (H-1B) | Temporary | Employer-sponsored; 3-year initial period, renewable |
| Agricultural Worker (H-2A) | Temporary | Seasonal farm labor; tied to specific employer |
| Lawful Permanent Resident (Green Card) | Permanent | Can live and work indefinitely; path to citizenship |
| Asylee / Refugee | Protected | Granted protection from persecution; pathway to permanent residence |
| Temporary Protected Status (TPS) | Protected | Granted to nationals of countries experiencing crisis conditions |
| Visa Waiver Program (ESTA) | Temporary | Citizens of ~40 allied nations; 90-day tourism/business, no visa required |
| DACA | Protected | Executive action protecting ~580K childhood arrivals from deportation; no path to citizenship |
Per-country caps mean that immigrants from high-demand countries like India, China, Mexico, and the Philippines wait decades longer for green cards than immigrants from low-demand countries — even when they have identical qualifications. An Indian software engineer in the H-1B backlog today may wait 50–100 years for a green card under current law. This structural inequity is rarely discussed in the public debate.
Net Benefits — Compiled by Kirk Matthews
The following analysis was prepared by CLT Civil Discourse Roundtable member Kirk Matthews, drawing on data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the Center for Immigration Studies, and other sources. It presents the net fiscal and economic impact of immigration in straightforward terms.
Immigrants not only contributed $1.8 trillion to U.S. GDP, but also produced a net positive relative to tax revenues ($500B) minus welfare costs ($150B) = +$350 billion. This net benefit figure does not account for the broader economic multiplier effects of immigrant spending, entrepreneurship, and innovation.
Immigrant workers — documented and undocumented — make up a significant share of essential industries. Source: U.S. Census Bureau.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
A straightforward comparison of what immigrants contribute in taxes versus what they receive in welfare benefits.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Center for Immigration Studies
While ~51% of immigrant-headed households use one or more welfare programs, this is not explained by an unwillingness to work — 86% of all immigrant households have at least one working family member, compared to ~74% of U.S.-born households. Most legal immigrants are barred from most programs, but immigrants can receive benefits on behalf of U.S.-born children, and naturalized citizens gain full welfare eligibility. Many immigrants who have lived here long enough simply qualify under the same rules as any other resident.
~55% family-sponsored · ~20% employment-based · ~5% refugees · remainder in numerous smaller categories.
~15% of the U.S. population is foreign-born. Of this total, more than 50% are naturalized U.S. citizens — fully enfranchised members of American society.
Since 1790, roughly 176 legislative Acts — approximately one new Act every 16 months — have been filed on immigration. This instability makes long-term policy solutions extremely difficult to achieve.
Member Analysis
Kirk Matthews notes that the undocumented population is not monolithic — it includes several distinct groups whose circumstances and culpability differ significantly.
According to ICE and FBI data (consistent for ~20 years prior to 2025), roughly 97% of immigrants entered through legal channels. Only ~3% crossed illegally. Note: this data was removed from government websites in 2025.
Many who entered legally checked in with immigration authorities year after year — but eventually gave up due to office closures, mounting fees, and little advancement. The vast majority were hardworking and law-abiding.
A subset of legal entrants were simply not informed of periodic check-in requirements — due to inadequate paperwork, lack of communication, or language barriers. Again, the vast majority were hardworking and law-abiding.
A smaller subset deliberately chose to disobey check-in requirements. Even within this group, the vast majority were hardworking and law-abiding — though a portion were not, and this group represented the majority of law-breaking immigrants.
The portion of the Roundtable's recommendation that Matthews agrees with most strongly is the call to dramatically expand immigration court capacity — including judges, asylum officers, and support staff — sufficient to resolve the existing backlog and establish enforceable performance standards for timely adjudication of all pending claims. He notes two significant challenges: the cost of such expansion is unclear, and Congressional agreement on the net benefit of immigration would be required to pass it — something he does not see happening soon.
Courts & Backlog
The immigration court backlog has grown from 300,000 cases in 2009 to over 3.3 million in 2026 — a tenfold increase that makes the system functionally unable to deliver timely justice to anyone.
Pending cases in thousands. The backlog has grown under both Republican and Democratic administrations.
Source: EOIR, TRAC Immigration, Syracuse University
The Obama administration deported more people than any prior administration. The "deporter-in-chief" label reflects this data.
Source: ICE Annual Reports, DHS
The average immigration case now takes 4–5 years to resolve. During that time, petitioners must remain in the U.S. — often unable to work legally — while their case is pending.
There are approximately 700 immigration judges for 3.3 million cases — roughly 4,700 cases per judge. Hiring more judges is the single most widely agreed-upon reform across partisan lines.
The American Immigration Council estimates deporting all undocumented immigrants would cost $315 billion or more — roughly the entire annual budget of the Department of Homeland Security for 15 years.
The backlog itself drives undocumented presence. When asylum seekers are told their case won't be heard for 5 years, they have no practical choice but to remain. A faster, better-resourced court system would resolve more cases, remove more people who don't qualify, and protect more people who do — a rare area of potential bipartisan agreement.
Policy Context
Understanding where current policy came from is essential to understanding what reform requires. U.S. immigration law has swung dramatically between restriction and openness over the past century.
First numerical limits on immigration — 350,000 per year based on nationality quotas tied to the 1910 census.
Landmark restrictive law. Nationality quotas based on 1890 census; complete exclusion of Asian immigrants; created the U.S. Border Patrol. Foundation of U.S. policy for four decades.
Wartime labor agreement with Mexico allowing millions of temporary agricultural workers. Ran over two decades before Congress ended it in 1964.
The most transformative reform of the 20th century. Lifted racist restrictions, opened immigration from Asia, Africa, and previously excluded nations. Prioritized family reunification and skills.
Established a permanent, systematic process for admitting refugees and created the modern U.S. asylum system, incorporating the UN definition of "refugee" into American law.
Bipartisan compromise: amnesty for ~3 million undocumented immigrants in exchange for employer sanctions. Enforcement provisions were poorly implemented. Dramatically reduced the measured undocumented population.
Sweeping enforcement law — expanded grounds for deportation, made it harder to contest removal, dramatically increased border resources. Remains a foundational piece of the modern enforcement system.
Would have provided a path for undocumented young people brought to the U.S. as children. Reintroduced many times since — never passed Congress.
Unable to pass legislation, President Obama used executive authority to protect ~800,000 "Dreamers" from deportation. Its legal status has been contested ever since.
Bipartisan Senate bill passed 68-32 but died in the House. Would have provided a path to citizenship in exchange for major border security investments.
Most significant proposed reform in 30 years — killed by Republican opposition at Trump's urging to preserve immigration as a campaign issue. See Our Position tab for full analysis.
Aggressive executive orders restricting asylum, deploying military to border, expanding deportation operations, and attempting to end birthright citizenship (blocked by courts).
The Congressional Budget Office estimates undocumented immigrants contribute approximately $7 billion annually in Social Security taxes and $1.5 billion in Medicare taxes — benefits they are ineligible to collect.
Multiple peer-reviewed studies find that immigrants — documented and undocumented — commit crimes at lower rates than native-born citizens. High-immigration areas do not have higher crime rates.
The 1986 IRCA amnesty increased wages, tax contributions, and homeownership rates among legalized immigrants. The CBO estimated the 2013 Gang of Eight bill would have reduced the deficit by $197 billion over 10 years.
CLT Civil Discourse Roundtable
Video Summary
CLT Civil Discourse Roundtable · Charlotte, NC · 2026
Official Roundtable Recommendation
The CLT Civil Discourse Roundtable recognizes that the current status of long-term undocumented residents — particularly parents of U.S. citizen children — represents an unresolved humanitarian and legal challenge that Congress has failed to address for decades.
We recommend that Congress consider a structured, conditional legalization program for undocumented individuals who meet all four of the following criteria:
Such a program should include acknowledgment of the immigration violation, payment of a civil fine, and rigorous background screening.
This is not a reward for breaking the law — it is a recognition that the status quo itself is inconsistent with both the rule of law and the nation's commitment to human dignity.
Working Position Paper
Prepared by Sean Strain on behalf of the CLT Civil Discourse Roundtable · March 13, 2026
This 16-page working position paper represents the Roundtable's most comprehensive structured analysis of U.S. immigration policy to date. It documents shared principles, key observations, eight specific policy recommendations with measurable metrics, and a framework for future consensus-building — along with three detailed addenda covering immigration facts, bipartisan proposals, a system map, and structural challenges.
Five Shared Principles
Eight Policy Recommendations
The Paper Also Includes Three Detailed Addenda
Addendum A — Immigration Reality Check: key facts, figures, and primary sources · Addendum B — Potential Bipartisan Policy Proposals with benefits and trade-offs · Addendum C — U.S. Immigration System Map showing how all agencies and processes connect · Addendum D — Structural Challenges in the U.S. Immigration System
16 pages · Sean Strain · CLT Civil Discourse Roundtable · March 2026
Discussion Framework
Identify shared values: national security, economic vitality, humanitarian obligations, rule of law, and America's identity as a nation of immigrants.
Border security, legal immigration levels, the undocumented population, asylum, temporary workers, and paths to citizenship are separate questions that deserve separate answers.
Ground conversation in actual numbers, economic impacts, enforcement realities, and what past policies actually achieved versus intended.
Stricter enforcement means labor shortages. Expanded legal immigration means integration challenges. Honest dialogue names the tradeoffs.
Frame questions as "What combination of policies would actually work?" rather than "Which position proves my values?"
Identify areas of 80% agreement: agricultural workers, high-skilled immigration, Dreamers, improved asylum processing.
Case Study
In early 2024, a rare bipartisan border security bill collapsed — not because of policy failures, but because of electoral strategy. This is our defining case study.
Funding for border barriers, expanded detention, more ICE and Border Patrol agents, expedited asylum processing, and stricter asylum standards — provisions that had long been Republican priorities.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Wall Street Journal editorial board, and the National Border Patrol Council — a coalition that crossed traditional partisan lines.
Senator Lankford himself acknowledged that Republicans were motivated by keeping immigration as a campaign issue for the 2024 election — choosing to preserve the problem rather than solve it.
When negotiated compromises are abandoned for electoral advantage, public trust erodes. This is why civic discourse infrastructure — separate from partisan politics — is essential.
Data Sources
All data on this dashboard is drawn from official U.S. government agencies and nonpartisan research institutions. We do not use advocacy organization data, partisan think tanks, or media-reported figures without primary source verification.
| Source | Data Used | URL |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) | Border encounter statistics, annual encounter totals | cbp.gov/newsroom/stats |
| DHS Office of Homeland Security Statistics | Lawful permanent residents, removals, visa overstays | ohss.dhs.gov |
| ICE Statistics | Deportation / removal data | ice.gov/statistics |
| USCIS Data | Naturalization, green cards, DACA | uscis.gov/data |
| Pew Research Center | Undocumented population estimates, length of residence, origin regions | pewresearch.org |
| Center for Migration Studies of New York | Visa overstay vs. border crossing entry method data | cmsny.org |
| EOIR / TRAC Immigration (Syracuse University) | Immigration court backlog, case processing times | trac.syr.edu/immigration |
| Migration Policy Institute | Policy analysis, DACA, workforce data | migrationpolicy.org |
| Congressional Budget Office (CBO) | Fiscal impact of immigration legislation | cbo.gov |
| U.S. Census Bureau / American Community Survey | Total foreign-born population, demographic data | census.gov |
"Undocumented" population figures are demographic estimates derived from census data — not direct counts. Border "encounters" are events, not unique individuals (one person may be encountered multiple times and most are returned). Legal immigration figures from DHS administrative records are the most precise. Figures marked (~) involve estimation uncertainty. Where estimates differ across sources, we show the consensus range. This dashboard is updated as new data becomes available.
U.S. Immigration Facts Dashboard — Produced by the CLT Civil Discourse Roundtable, Charlotte, NC · Nonpartisan civic resource · Not affiliated with any political party or advocacy organization