Illegal immigration

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Illegal immigration is the migration of people across national borders, or the residence of foreign nationals in a country, in a way that is illegal according to the immigration laws of the destination country. Citing economic reasons [1] and military security [2] many countries designate some forms of immigration as illegal.

Immigration, including illegal immigration, is overwhelmingly upward, from a poorer to a richer country.[3] However, it is also noted that illegal immigrants tend not to be the poorest within their populations.

Some countries have millions of illegal immigrants.[4]

When potential immigrants believe that the chances of successfully migrating are greater than the risks/costs, illegal immigration becomes an option. The benefits taken into account include not only expected improvements in income and living conditions, but also expectations in relation to potential future residential permits,[5] where illegal immigrants are given a path to naturalization or citizenship.[6] The costs may include restrictions on living as an illegal immigrant in the destination country, leaving family and ways of life behind, and the probability of being detained and resulting sanctions.[7]


There have been campaigns to discourage the use of the term 'illegal immigrant' in many countries since 2007, generally based on the argument that the act of immigration may be illegal in some cases, but the people themselves are not illegal. In the United States, a "Drop the I-Word" campaign was launched in 2010 to advocate the use of terms such as "undocumented immigrants" or "unauthorized immigrants" to refer to the foreign nationals who reside in a country illegally.[8]

News associations around the world that have discontinued or discourage the use of the adjective "illegal" to describe people include the US Associated Press,[9] UK Press Association, European Journalism Observatory,[10] European Journalism Centre,[11] Association of European Journalists, Australian Press Council,[12] and Australian Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance.[13] Terms such as "illegal immigration" which describe prohibited actions are not affected by this argument.

On the other hand, some will shorten "illegal immigrants" to "illegals" so as to associate the people themselves with crime.[14]

Economic models of illegal immigration[edit]

There are multiple models that explain illegal immigration from the perspective of the potential immigrants. However, there are fewer models that describe why countries choose to designate certain forms of immigration as illegal.[citation needed]

Neoclassical model[edit]


Neoclassical theory posits that factors such as geographic proximity, border enforcement, probability and consequences of arrest, ease of illegal employment, and chances of future legal status govern the likelihood of "successful" illegal immigration.[15] This model also assumes that illegal workers tend to add to, and compete with, the receiving countries' pool of unskilled laborers. Illegal workers in this model find employment by accepting lower wages than native-born workers, sometimes below the minimum wage and "off-the-books." Economist George Borjas supports aspects of this model, calculating that real wages of US workers without a high school degree declined by 9% from 1980–2000 due to competition from illegal immigrants.[16]


Trade liberalization[edit]


Structural demand in developed states[edit]

Douglas Massey argues that a bifurcating labor market in so called developed countries creates a structural demand for unskilled immigrant labor to fill undesirable jobs that native-born citizens do not seek, regardless of wages.[18] He postulates that postindustrial economies have a widening gap between well-paying, white-collar jobs that require ever higher levels of education ("human capital"), for which native-born citizens and legal immigrants can qualify, and bottom-tier jobs that are stigmatized and require no education. These "underclass" jobs include harvesting crops, unskilled labor in landscaping and construction, house-cleaning, and maid and busboy work in hotels and restaurants, all of which have a disproportionate number of illegal immigrants. Research indicates that the advantage to firms from employing illegal immigrants increases as more firms in the industry do so, decreases with the skill level of the firm's workers, increases with the breadth of a firm's market, and increases with the labor intensity of the firm's production process.[19]


In a developed country like the US, only 12% of the labor force has less than a high school education. Illegal immigrants are believed to have lower levels of education, and it has been reported that about 70% of illegal workers in the US from Mexico lack a high school degree.[15] Even "underclass" jobs have higher relative wages than those in home countries. Since many illegal immigrants often anticipate working only temporarily in the destination country, the lack of opportunity for advancement is seen by many as less of a problem. Some support for this claim can be seen in a Pew Hispanic Center poll of over 3,000 illegal immigrants from Mexico in the US, which found that 79% would voluntarily join a temporary worker program that allowed them to work legally for several years but then required them to leave.[20]

The structural demand theory posits that willingness to take undesirable jobs is what gives illegal immigrants their employment.[21] Structural demand theory argues that cases like this show that there is no direct competition between illegal immigrants and native-born workers. This is the concept that illegal immigrants "take jobs that no one else wants." Massey argues that this has certain policy implications, as it may refute claims that illegal immigrants are "lowering wages" or stealing jobs from native-born workers.[18]


While economic models do look at relative wealth and income between home and destination countries, they do not necessarily imply that illegal immigrants are always impoverished by standards of the home country. The poorest classes in a developing country may lack the resources needed to mount an attempt to cross illegally, or the connections to friends or family already in the destination country. Studies from the Pew Hispanic Center have shown that the education and wage levels of illegal Mexican immigrants in the US are around the median for Mexico, and that having family who have immigrated or being from a community with many immigrants is a much better predictor of one's choice to immigrate.[20]


There are also examples where natural disasters and overpopulation can amplify poverty-driven migration flows.[22]


Population growth that exceeds the carrying capacity of an area or environment results in overpopulation.[23] Spikes in human population can cause problems such as pollution, water crisis,[24][25] and poverty.[26][27] World population has grown from 1.6 billion in 1900 to an estimated 7 billion today. In Mexico alone, population has grown from 13.6 million in 1900 to 107 million in 2007.[28] Virginia Abernethy notes that immigration is a road that provides a "relief valve" to overpopulation that stops a population from addressing the consequences of its overpopulation and that exports this overpopulation to another location or country.[29]


Family reunification[edit]



Wars and asylum[edit]


The status of "illegal immigrant" may coincide with or be replaced by the status of "asylum seeker" for emigrants who have escaped a war or repression and have unlawfully crossed into another state. If they are recognized as "legitimate" asylees by the destination state, they will then gain status. However, there may be numerous potential asylums in a destination state who are unwilling to apply or have been denied asylum status, and hence are categorized as "illegal immigrants" and may be subject to punishment or deportation. However, Article 31 of the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees prohibits the Contracting States from imposing penalties on refugees for their illegal enter or presence, who come directly from a territory where their life or freedom are threatened. There are numerous cases of mass emigration from poor or war-stricken states. These include examples from Africa,[36] Colombia, and El Salvador.

After decades of armed conflict, roughly one of every 10 Colombians now lives abroad.[37] For example, Colombians emigrating to Spain have "grown exponentially, from a little over 7,000 in 1993 to more than 80,000 in 2002 and 244,000 in 2003."[38] Also, figures from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security indicate that Colombia is the fourth-leading source country of illegal immigration to the United States. According to its estimates, the number of illegal Colombian residents in the United States almost tripled from 51,000 in 1990 to 141,000 in 2000.[39] According to the US Census Bureau, the number of authorized Colombian immigrants in the United States in 2000[citation needed] was 801,363.[40] Census data are important because, as the Department of Homeland Security states, [U.S.] "census data are more complete and reliable [than INS's data] because of the national scope of the data collection, the vastly larger data sample, and the extensive preparation and follow-up activities involved in conducting the decennial census."[39] El Salvador is another country which experienced substantial emigration as a result of civil war and repression. The largest per-capita source of immigrants to the United States comes from El Salvador. Up to a third of the world's Salvadoran-born population lives outside the country, mostly in the United States.[citation needed]

Deprivation of citizenship[edit]



Some perceived problems with illegal immigration can be divided into dangers faced by illegal immigrants and problems faced by the host or receiving country. Illegal immigrants may expose themselves and citizens of the countries they enter to dangers while entering into another country. Aside from the possibility that they may be intercepted and deported, some considerably more dangerous outcomes have been known to result from their activity. As an example, illegal immigrants may be trafficked for exploitation including sexual exploitation and some illegal immigrants, like other people, are involved in criminal activity.



People have been kidnapped or tricked into slavery to work as laborers, after entering the country, for example in factories. Those trafficked in this manner often face additional barriers to escaping slavery, since their status as illegal immigrants makes it difficult for them to gain access to help or services. For example Burmese women trafficked into Thailand and forced to work in factories or as prostitutes may not speak the language and may be vulnerable to abuse by police due to their illegal immigrant status.[43] In some regions, people that are still en route to their destination country are also sometimes kidnapped, for example for ransom. In some instances, they are also tortured, raped, and killed if the requested ransom does not arrive. One case in point are the Eritrean migrants that are en route to Israel. A large number of them are captured in north Sinai (Egypt) and Eastern Sudan and held in the buildings in north Sinai.[44][45]


Some people forced into sexual slavery face challenges of charges of illegal immigration.[46]

Since the fall of the Iron Curtain, Western Europe is being confronted with a serious problem related to the sexual exploitation of illegal immigrants (especially from Eastern Europe), for the purpose of prostitution.[47]


Each year there are several hundred illegal Immigrant deaths along the U.S.-Mexico border.[48] Death by exposure occurs in the deserts of Southwestern United States during the hot summer season.[49]


Border crossing[edit]

Border control at sea by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Immigrants from countries that do not have automatic visa agreements, or who would not otherwise qualify for a visa, often cross the borders illegally in some areas like the United States–Mexico border, the Mona Channel between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, the Strait of Gibraltar, Fuerteventura, and the Strait of Otranto. Because these methods are illegal, they are often dangerous. Would-be immigrants have been known to suffocate in shipping containers,[50] boxcars,[51] and trucks,[52] sink in shipwrecks caused by unseaworthy vessels, die of dehydration[53] or exposure during long walks without water. An official estimate puts the number of people who died in illegal crossings across the U.S.-Mexican border between 1998 and 2004 at 1,954 (see immigrant deaths along the U.S.-Mexico border).


Types of notorious human smugglers include Snakehead gangs present in mainland China (especially in Fujian) that smuggle laborers into Pacific Rim states (making Chinatowns frequent centers of illegal immigration) and "coyotes", who smuggle illegal immigrants to the Southwestern United States and have been known to abuse or even kill their passengers.[54] Sometimes illegal immigrants are abandoned by their human traffickers if there are difficulties, often dying in the process. Others may be victims of intentional killing.

Overstaying a visa[edit]

Many illegal immigrants are migrants who originally arrive in a country lawfully but overstay their authorized residence (overstaying a visa).[55][56] For example, most of the estimated 200,000 illegal immigrants in Canada (perhaps as high as 500,000) are refugee claimants whose refugee applications were rejected but who have not yet been expelled from the country.[57]

A related way of becoming an illegal immigrant is through bureaucratic means. For example, people can be allowed to remain in a country or be protected from expulsion because they need special pension for a medical condition,[citation needed] deep love for a native,[citation needed] or even to avoid being tried for a crime in their native country,[citation needed] without being able to regularize their situation and obtain a work and/or residency permit, let alone naturalization.[citation needed] Hence, categories of people being neither undocumented immigrants nor local citizens are created, living in a judicial "no man's land".

Another example is formed by children of foreigners born in countries observing jus soli ("right of territory"), such as was the case in France until 1994[citation needed] and in Ireland until 2005.[58] In these countries, it was possible to obtain French or Irish nationality (respectively) solely by being born in France before 1994 or in Ireland before 2005[58] (respectively). At present, a French born child of foreign parents does not automatically obtain French nationality until residency duration conditions are met[citation needed]. Since 1 January 2005, a child born in Ireland does not automatically acquire Irish nationality unless certain conditions are met.[58]

Sham marriages[edit]

Another method is by entering into a sham marriage where the marriage is contracted into for purely immigration advantage by a couple who are not in a genuine relationship. Common reasons for sham marriages are to gain immigration,[59][60] residency, work or citizenship rights for one or both of the spouses, or for other benefits.

In the United Kingdom, those who arrange, participate in, or officiate over a sham marriage may be charged with a number of offenses, including assisting unlawful immigration and conspiracy to facilitate breach of immigration law.[61]

The United States has a penalty of a $250,000 fine and five-year prison sentence for such arrangements.[62] The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Justice Department say that they do not have accurate numbers on the rate of attempted marriage fraud.[63] In the 2009 fiscal year, 506 of the 241,154 petitions filed were denied for suspected fraud, a rate of 0.2%; seven percent were denied on other grounds.[64]

Legal and political status[edit]

See also: Illegal immigration to the United States, Illegal immigration in the United Kingdom, Australian immigration, Immigration to Canada, Illegal immigration to Pakistan, Illegal immigrants in Malaysia, Immigration to Chile.

Many countries have had or currently have laws restricting immigration for economic or nationalistic political reasons or others. Whether a person is permitted to stay in a country legally may be decided by quotas or point systems or may be based on considerations such as family ties (marriage, elderly mother, etc.). Exceptions relative to political refugees or to sick people are also common. In some countries, people born on national territory (henceforth not "immigrants") do not automatically obtain the nationality of their birthplace, and may have no legal title of residency.[65]

Most countries have laws requiring workers to have proper documentation, often intended to prevent or minimize the employment of illegal immigrants.[citation needed] However the penalties against employers are often small and the acceptable identification requirements vague, ill-defined and seldom checked or enforced, making it easy for employers to hire illegal labor.[citation needed] Where the minimum wage is several times the prevailing wage in the home country, employers sometimes pay less than the legal minimum wage or have unsafe working conditions, relying on the reluctance of illegal workers to report the violations to the authorities.[citation needed]

In response to the outcry following popular knowledge of the Holocaust, the newly established United Nations held an international conference on refugees to adopt the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees whereby refugees (legally defined to be people who are persecuted in their original country and then enter another country seeking safety) should be exempted from immigration laws.[66] It is, however, up to the countries involved to decide if a particular immigrant is a refugee or not, and hence whether they are subject to the immigration controls. United Nations Security Council Resolution 1373 concerning counter-terrorism, enacted in October 2001, requested of UN member states to restrict immigration laws.

The right to freedom of movement of an individual within national borders is often contained within the constitution or in a country's human rights legislation. The article 13 on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights declares the right to leave any country, including one's own, to be a fundamental human right. No right for an individual to enter a country other than his or her own is suggested.

Since illegal immigrants without proper legal status have no valid identification documents such as identity cards, they may have reduced or no access to public health systems, proper housing, education and banks. Some immigrants resort to forgery to provide this documentation.[67]

Amnesties waive the "subject to deportation" clause associated with illegal immigrants.

By country or region[edit]


In 2007 around 44,000 Congolese were forced to leave Angola.[68] Since 2004, more than 400,000 illegal immigrants, almost all from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, have been expelled from Angola.[69][70]



On 1 June 2013, the Migration Amendment (Reform of Employer Sanctions) Act 2013 commenced. This new law puts the onus on businesses to ensure that their employees maintain the necessary work entitlements in Australia. This new Employer Sanctions legislation also enabled the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship to levy infringement notices against businesses (AUD $15,300) and individuals (AUD $3,060) on a strict liability basis - meaning that there is no requirement to prove fault, negligence or intention.[71][72]


There are hundreds of thousands of illegal Indians in Bangladesh. They are mainly from the poorest states in India, West Bengal, Meghalaya, Assam and Manipur, which surround Bangladesh. They illegally immigrate to Bangladesh in search of jobs in the metropolitan hubs and a better standard of living. Bangladesh is fifth among the nations sending highest remittances to India. Indians working in Bangladesh sent more than $3.7 billion back to India in 2012.[73]

There is also a significant number of Burmese illegal immigrants in Bangladesh. As of 2012, the Bangladesh government estimated about 500,000 illegal Burmese immigrants living across Bangladesh.[74]




Aerial view of São Paulo, where most illegal immigrants in Brazil live.


Illegal immigrants in Brazil enjoy the same legal privileges as native Brazilians regarding access to social services such as public education and the Brazilian public healthcare system.[76] A Federal Police operation investigated Chinese immigrants who traveled through six countries before arriving in São Paulo to work under substandard conditions in the textile industry.[77]


An October 2009 piece from O Globo, quoting a UNDP study, estimates the number of illegal immigrants at 0.7 million,[78] and points out to a recent wave of xenophobia among the general populace.[79]


There is no credible information available on illegal immigration in Canada. Estimates range between 35,000 and 120,000 illegal immigrants in Canada.[80] James Bissett, a former head of the Canadian Immigration Service, has suggested that the lack of any credible refugee screening process, combined with a high likelihood of ignoring any deportation orders, has resulted in tens of thousands of outstanding warrants for the arrest of rejected refugee claimants, with little attempt at enforcement.[81] Refugee claimants in Canada do not have to attempt re-entry to learn the status of their claim. A 2008 report by the Auditor General Sheila Fraser stated that Canada has lost track of as many as 41,000 illegal immigrants.[82][83] This number was predicted to increase drastically with the expiration of temporary employer work permits issued in 2007 and 2008, which were not renewed in many cases because of the shortage of work due to the recession.[84]




China is building a security barrier along its border with North Korea to prevent the defectors or refugees from North Korea.[86] Also, many immigrants from Mongolia have tried to make it to China. There might be as many as 100,000 Africans in Guangzhou, mostly illegal overstayers.[87] To encourage people to report foreigners living illegally in China, the police is giving a 100 yuan reward to whistleblowers whose information successfully leads to an expulsion.[88]

Dominican Republic[edit]

The Dominican Republic is a nation that shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti. An estimated 1,000,000 Haitians live and work in the Dominican Republic. The percentage of Haitians that have illegally immigrated to the Dominican Republic is not accurately known, and "many Dominicans have come to resent the influx of lower-paid workers from across the border and have sought to make their country less hospitable to noncitizens."[89]

European Union[edit]


According to a BBC report, over 80% of the illegal immigrants entering the European Union now pass through Greece.[90] Greek police are unable to work with their counterparts in Turkey because the Turkish army is responsible for their border.[91] Recently, 14 illegal migrants drowned because of Turkish traffickers who sent them into the sea, telling them to slice the dinghies once they reach Greek waters.[92] The Turkish newspaper Hürriyet published stories once in July 2004 and a second time in May 2006 that Hellenic Coast Guard ships were caught on film cruising as near as a few hundred meters off the Turkish coast and abandoning clandestine immigrants to the sea.



United Kingdom[edit]

There are between 550,000 and 950,000 illegal immigrants in the United Kingdom, with a figure of 750,000 as the most likely number.[96] The United Kingdom is a difficult country to reach as it is mostly located on one island and part of another, but traffickers in Calais, France have tried to smuggle illegal immigrants into the UK. Many of the illegal immigrants come from Africa and Asia. There are also many from Eastern Europe and Latin America who are in the UK illegally, having overstayed their visas.[97][98]

A 2012 study carried out by the University of Oxford's Centre on Migration, Policy and Society (COMPAS) has estimated that there were 120,000 irregular migrant children in the UK, of whom 65,000 born in the UK to parents without legal status. The study showed that these children are at risk of destitution, exploitation and social exclusion because of contradictory and frequently changing rules and regulations which jeopardize their access to healthcare, education, protection by the police and other public services.[99]

In addition, the Home Office estimates that 4,000 to 10,000 applications a year to stay in the UK are made on the basis of a sham marriage.[100]


In French, the term "irrégulière" is used (literally “irregular”), whereas in English, the term more often used is "illegal." Often, the colloquial term used is "sans papiers" (literally "without papers"), referring to the fact that irregular immigrants do not possess papers from the French government allowing them to stay in France.[101][102]

Many immigrants are legal residents in France. Children born to noncitizens in France are not immigrants themselves, but they are considered foreigners under French law, until they reach the age of 18, at which time they automatically become citizens.[103] French citizenship is based in the idea of political unity; therefore, French citizenship may be more accessible than other EU countries, such as Germany and the UK. However, many French citizens feel that those who gain French citizenship should conform to the cultural aspects of French life.[104]

French law prohibits anyone from assisting or trying to assist "the entry, movement, or irregular stay of a foreigner in France." [105] France has an Immigration Ministry (L'immigration, l'intégration, l'asile et le développement solidaire) which begun functioning in 2007 under President Sarkozy. The government seek to combat smugglers who profit financially from moving immigrants into, through, and out of France, according to the Immigration Minister, Éric Besson.[103][105]

Many try to cross the English Channel from Calais to seek asylum or refugee status in Great Britain.[106] Truck drivers can be fined up to €2,500 if illegal immigrants are found on board.[107] An area of Calais known as "the Jungle" had a police raid in September 2009 to control illegal immigration.[106]

Non-governmental organizations, such as Secours Catholique and the Red Cross provide food, showers, and shelter to sans papiers who gather waiting to cross the Channel. In 2002, then Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy closed a Red Cross shelter in the Calais suburb of Sangatte. They moved to other parts of the Calais region.[106] Philippe Lefilleul, a member of Secours Catholique, stated that aid workers from these NGOs do not condone illegal immigration to France, but they feel that it is their "duty as fellow human beings and as Christians" to help them.[106]

The French film "Welcome" portrays a sans papiers young man trying to cross the English Channel. It was controversial because it uses a very important French cultural venu: —film. Other French films that address French immigration, especially illegal immigration, are "Entre les murs" and "La Haine", which address cultural and political situations surrounding immigration.[108]


See Immigration to Italy and Operation Mare Nostrum


See Immigration to Greece.


ABVP against Bangladeshi illegal immigrants

It is estimated that several tens of millions of illegal immigrants live in India. Precise figures are not available, but the numbers run in tens of millions, at least 10 million are from Bangladesh, others being from Pakistan, Afghanistan and others.[109] During the Bangladesh Liberation War at least 10 million Bangladeshis crossed into India illegally to seek refuge from widespread rape and genocide.[110] According to Indian Home Ministry, at least 1.4 Million Bangladeshi crossed over into India in the last decade alone.[110] Samir Guha Roy of the Indian Statistical Institute called these estimates "motivatedly exaggerated". After examining the population growth and demographic statistics, Roy instead states that a significant numbers of internal migration is sometimes falsely thought to be immigrants. An analysis of the numbers by Roy revealed that on average around 91000 Bangladeshi nationals might have crossed over to India every year during the years 1981-1991 but how many of them where identified and pushed back is not known. It is possible that a large portion of these immigrants returned on their own to their place of origin.[111]






Israel and Palestine[edit]



Much of the international community considers Israeli settlers in the West Bank to be illegal migrants. The Israeli government, however, considers only unauthorized squatters in Israeli outposts to be illegal. Prior to Israeli independence, illegal immigration of Jewish refugees into Mandatory Palestine was referred to as "Aliyah Bet".


Libya is home to a large illegal Sub-Saharan African population which numbers as much as 2,000,000.[120] The mass expulsion plan to summarily deport all illegal foreigners was announced by Libyan leader Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi in January 2008. "No resident without a legal visa will be excluded."[121][122]


There are an estimated 800,000 illegal immigrants in Malaysia.[123] In January 2009, Malaysia banned the hiring of foreign workers in factories, stores and restaurants to protect its citizens from mass unemployment amid the late 2000s recession.[124] An ethnic Indian Malaysian was recently sentenced to whipping and 10 months in prison for hiring six illegal immigrants at his restaurant. "I think that after this, Malaysian employers will be afraid to take in foreign workers (without work permits). They will think twice", said immigration department prosecutor Azlan Abdul Latiff. "This is the first case where an employer is being sentenced to caning", he said. illegal immigrants also face caning before being deported.[125]


In the first six months of 2005, more than 120,000 people from Central America were deported, as compared to 2002, when for the entire year, only 130,000 were deported.[126] People of Han Chinese origin pay about $5,500 to smugglers to be taken to Mexico from Hong Kong. It is estimated that 2.4% of rejections for work permits in Mexico correspond to Chinese citizens.[127] In a 2010 news story, USA Today reported, "... Mexico's Arizona-style law requires local police to check IDs. And Mexican police freely engage in racial profiling and routinely harass Central American migrants, say immigration activists."[128]

Many women from Eastern Europe, Asia, and Central and South America take jobs at table dance establishments in large cities. The National Institute of Migration (INM) in Mexico raids strip clubs and deports foreigners who work without proper documentation.[129] In 2004, the INM deported 188,000 people at a cost of US$10 million.[130]


Illegal immigration of Cubans through Cancún tripled from 2004 to 2006.[132] In October 2008, Mexico tightened its immigration rules and agreed to deport Cubans who use the country as an entry point to the US. It also criticized US policy that generally allows Cubans who reach US territory to stay. Cuban Foreign Minister said the Cuban-Mexican agreement would lead to "the immense majority of Cubans being repatriated."[133]




As of 2005, 2.1% of the population of Pakistan had foreign origins, however the number of immigrants population in Pakistan recently grew sharply. Immigrants from South Asia make up a growing proportion of immigrants in Pakistan. The five largest immigrant groups in Pakistan are in turn Afghans,[135] Bangladeshi,[136] Tajiks, Uzbeks, Turkmens, Iranians, Indians, Sri Lankan, Burmese[137][138] and Britons[139] including a sizeable number of those of Pakistani origin. Other significant expatriate communities in the country are Armenians, Australians, Turks, Chinese,[140] Americans,[141] Filipinos,[142] Bosnians[143] and many others. Migrants from different countries of Arab world specially Egypt, Iraq, Palestine, Syria, Kuwait, Libya, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen are in thousands. Nearly all illegal migrants in Pakistan are Muslim refugees and they are accepted by the local population. There is no political support or legislation to deport these refugees from Pakistan.




Russia experiences a constant flow of immigration. On average, 200,000 legal immigrants enter the country every year; about half are ethnic Russians from other republics of the former Soviet Union. In addition, there are an estimated 10–12 million unauthorized immigrants in the country.[145] There has been a significant influx of ethnic Georgians, Armenians, Azerbaijanis, Tajiks, and Uzbeks into large Russian cities in recent years, which has been viewed very unfavorably by many citizens and contributed to nationalist sentiments.[146][147][148]



Saudi Arabia[edit]

In 2004, Saudi Arabia began construction of a Saudi–Yemen barrier between its territory and Yemen to prevent the unauthorized movement of people and goods into and out of the Kingdom. Anthony H. Cordesman labeled it a "separation barrier."[151] In February 2004, The Guardian reported that Yemeni opposition newspapers likened the barrier to the Israeli West Bank barrier,[152] while The Independent wrote "Saudi Arabia, one of the most vocal critics in the Arab world of Israel's 'security fence' in the West Bank, is quietly emulating the Israeli example by erecting a barrier along its porous border with Yemen".[153] Saudi officials rejected the comparison saying it was built to prevent infiltration and smuggling.[152]

South Africa[edit]

South Africa is home to an estimated ten million unauthorized immigrants, including some three million Zimbabweans.[154][155][156] Attacks on foreign nationals increased markedly in late 2007 and it is believed that there have been at least a dozen attacks since the start of 2008. The 2008 South Africa riots started on May 11, 2008 against unauthorized immigrants, who are accused of increasing the amount of crime and unemployment.[157][158] see (Zimbabwean diaspora)

South Korea[edit]

According to the Republic of Korea Immigration Service, as of December 31, 2012, there were 177,854 illegal immigrants, which is 12.3% of 1,445,103 total foreign nationals who resided in South Korea. The top 10 home countries of those illegal immigrants were People's Republic of China, Vietnam, Thailand, The Philippines, Mongolia, Indonesia, Uzbekistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, The United States of America, respectively.[159]


Since the US-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003, there are more refugees from Iraq . The United Nations estimates that nearly 2,200,000 Iraqis have fled the country since 2003,[160] with nearly 100,000 fleeing to Syria and Jordan each month.[161][162] Most ventured to Jordan and Syria, creating demographic shifts that have worried both governments. Refugees are mired in poverty as they are generally barred from working in their host countries.[163][164]

Syrian authorities worried that the new influx of refugees would limit the country's resources. Sources like oil, heat, water and electricity were said to be becoming scarcer as demand were rising.[165] On October 1, 2007, news agencies reported that Syria reimposed restrictions on Iraqi refugees, as stated by a spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Under Syria's new rules, only Iraqi merchants, businessmen and university professors with visas acquired from Syrian embassies may enter Syria.[166][167][168]


Turkey receives many economic migrants from nearby countries such as Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia, but also from North Caucasus, Central Asia, Afghanistan and Pakistan.[169][170] The Iraq War is thought to have increased the flow of illegal immigration into Turkey, and the global parties directly involved in the conflict have been accused of extending a less-helping hand than Turkey itself to resolve the precarious situation of immigrants stranded in passage.[171]

United States[edit]


Between 10 million and 20 million illegal immigrants are estimated to be living in the United States.[172] Estimates from the Pew Hispanic Center show the number of illegal immigrants has declined to 11.1 million in March 2009 from a peak of 12 million in March 2007.[173] The majority of the illegal immigrants are from Mexico.[174] Illegal immigration has long been controversial.

In 2007, President George W. Bush called for Congress to endorse his guest worker proposal, stating that illegal immigrants took jobs that Americans would not take.[175] The Pew Hispanic Center notes that while the number of legal immigrants arriving has not varied substantially since the 1980s, the number of illegal immigrants has increased dramatically and, since the mid-1990s, has surpassed the number of legal immigrants.[176] Penalties for employers of illegal immigrants, of $2,000–$10,000 and up to six months' imprisonment,[177] go largely unenforced.

Political groups like Americans for Legal Immigration[178] have been formed to demand enforcement of immigration laws and secure borders. ALIPAC has also called for "safe departure" border checkpoints, free of criminal checks.[179]


Immigration from Mexico to the United States has slowed in recent years.[181] This has been attributed to the slowing of the U.S. economy, the buildup in security along the border, and increased violence on the Mexican side of the border.[182]

Puerto Rico[edit]

See Dominican immigration to Puerto Rico#Illegal immigration



See also[edit]


  1. ^ Why is Immigration Illegal Anyway?
  2. ^ What is Illegal Immigration?
  4. ^ "By the numbers: How America tallies its 11.1 million undocumented immigrants". NBC News. Retrieved 3 September 2013. 
  8. ^ Drop the I-word campaign
  9. ^ Illegal Immigrant no more Associated Press Blog, 2013 April 2
  10. ^ Nazhmidinova, Rukhshona. "User Generated Racism: Russia’s media and migrants". The European Journalism Observatory. Retrieved 5 May 2014. 
  11. ^ "How journalism can rid migration of its sour reputation". European Journalism Centre. Retrieved 5 May 2014. 
  12. ^ "'Asylum seekers', 'illegal immigrants' and entry without a visa". Advisory Guidelines 2011. Australian Press Council. Retrieved 5 May 2014. 
  13. ^ Romano, Angela. "Missing the Boat? A paper delivered to ‘Reporting on Asylum Seekers and Refugees: A Walkley Media Forum’ convened by the Media Entertainment & Arts Alliance, 19 June 2007". Proceedings Reporting on Asylum Seekers and Refugees: A Walkley Media Forum, Regatta Hotel, Brisbane, Australia. Queensland University of Technology. Retrieved 5 May 2014. 
  14. ^
  39. ^ a b "Estimates of the illegal immigrant population residing in the United States: 1990 to 2000". Office of Policy and Planning U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service. Retrieved 2012-03-04. 
  44. ^ Meron Estifanos on the torture houses in north Sinai
  45. ^ Sound of torture documentary
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Further reading[edit]


  • Cull, Nicholas J. and Carrasco, Davíd, ed. Alambrista and the US-Mexico Border: Film, Music, and Stories of illegal Immigrants U. of New Mexico Press, 2004. 225 pp.
  • Flores, William V. "New Citizens, New Rights: illegal Immigrants and Latino Cultural Citizenship" Latin American Perspectives 2003 30(2): 87–100.
  • Mireille Rosello; "Representing illegal immigrants in France: From Clandestins to L'affaire Des Sans-Papiers De Saint-Bernard" Journal of European Studies, Vol. 28, 1998 959525126.