Just the Facts: Immigration
October 2025
Summary: Immigration is a top issue for voters. We need a comprehensive approach to immigration that respects human rights and supports our economy.
I. Why Immigration is Important
Immigration has always been an integral part of the American experience. Immigration has historically helped the U.S. economy grow, and has fostered innovation, especially in technology and knowledge industries.
Research shows that immigrants complement rather than displace native workers, filling vital roles in both high- and low-skilled sectors. (1)
How many Immigrants are there in the US?
Despite all the hyperbole, the facts are that as of 2025, foreign-born residents in the US, both documented and undocumented, represent less than 16% of the total U.S. population. The number of undocumented immigrants did grow rapidly in 2023 and 2024 but still only about a quarter of all immigrants are undocumented. (2)
Pew Research estimates the number of undocumented immigrants in the US at 14 million as of mid-2025. From about 11 million in 2022, the number grew rapidly in 2023 and 2024. (3) Almost all of this increase was in people with Temporary Protected status, from countries like Venezuela and Haiti, where they are at risk of violence. (3)
Texans rate Immigration as an important political issue
A May 2025 survey found that "Securing the Border" was the second most important issue for Texas voters, just behind the economy. It was also the second most important issue for Independent voters, Latino voters, and the number one issue for White voters, and Republican voters. (4)
II. Republican policies are harming our country and our economy
Because of this concern about the border and immigration, the Trump administration has emphasized border control and expulsion of undocumented immigrants. During the Presidential campaign, Trump promised “On Day 1, I will launch the largest deportation program in American history to get the criminals out.” (5)
However, contrary to those promises, most of Trump’s deportations have not involved people with criminal records. Through June 2025, ICE’s own statistics show that over 70% of the people detained by ICE have no criminal convictions. (6)
Aside from the civil rights concerns, Trump’s policies are also hurting our economy because data shows that when immigrant jobs are lost, companies suffer, and US jobs disappear as well. According to a 2025 Economic Policy Institute (EPI) report, the Trump administration’s goal to deport 4 million immigrants over four years, would eliminate nearly 6 million jobs in total—3.3 million jobs held by immigrants and 2.6 million jobs held by U.S.-born workers. (7)
Republican immigration policies are also hurting Texas
In 2021, Texas Governor Greg Abbott launched “Operation Lone Star” to address increased illegal immigration. The Children's Defense Fund reports that Operation Lonestar has been a costly and harmful failure: (8)
It has cost the citizens of Texas over 11 billion dollars
It has failed to deter illegal immigration - other states like Arizona have actually seen larger decreases in illegal immigration.
It has led to a series of human rights abuses, including those affecting children.
Operation Lone Star is simply a costly, ineffective collection of human rights abuses masquerading as border management.
III. Better ways to manage the Border and Immigration
Illegal immigration is an important issue, but Republican policies aren’t working. We need better policies. True immigration reform needs to be comprehensive, not piecemeal. The Dignity Act is a good starting point. This bipartisan legislation was first proposed in 2023 and was reintroduced in the U.S. House in 2025.
With support from both Republicans and Democratics, human rights groups and business organizations, this legislation would address border security in a way that Integrates the law, human rights, and economic growth.
Effective and humane border security. The Dignity Act provides increased funding for border infrastructure and equipment, CBP agents and officers. It updates their training and provides new guidelines, such as prohibiting immigration enforcement actions in places like schools, hospitals, places of worship, and courthouses. (9)
Focus internal enforcement on criminals. Today, most of the people the Trump administration is sending out of the country are people working in important parts of our economy including agriculture, health care, and construction. In September 2025, an immigration raid on a battery plant under construction in Georgia resulted in the detention and expulsion not of criminals but of hundreds of workers from South Korea who were here to help build the plant and train local American workers for thousands of new US jobs. (10)
Respect Asylum laws. Many immigrants are asylum seekers, those fleeing violence, persecution, or human trafficking and living legally in the US while awaiting their backlogged asylum cases to be decided. So this legislation would increase resources to approve or deny those asylum claims more quickly. Asylum rights are protected by US and International law but the only way to claim asylum is to declare your intention to seek asylum at the US border. The asylum reform section establishes 3 regional processing centers across Latin America so that immigrants can legally seek asylum without coming to the United States to apply. It also ensures that asylum seekers have access to legal counsel. (9)
Provide a legal way for people to work in the US. For example, the Dignity Act would enable eligible undocumented immigrants to enroll in a program that would grant legal status to work in the US. (9)
Sixty-six percent of Americans agree that fixing our broken immigration system—while upholding fairness, humanity, and constitutional rights—is the way forward. We need an immigration system that prioritizes public safety while upholding American values. (11)
We can enforce sensible deportation policies targeting serious offenders while also promoting legal pathways for immigrants who abide by the law and contribute to our economy and our society.
Sources
1. Council on Foreign Relations, 10/30/24, https://www.cfr.org/in-brief/how-does-immigration-affect-us-economy
2. USA Facts, https://usafacts.org/answers/how-many-immigrants-are-in-the-us/country/united-states/
3. Pew Research, 8/21/25, https://www.pewresearch.org/race-and-ethnicity/2025/08/21/u-s-unauthorized-immigrant-population-reached-a-record-14-million-in-2023/
4. UT/Tyler poll, May/June 2025, https://www.uttyler.edu/academics/colleges-schools/arts-sciences/departments/political-science/files/uttyler-poll-202505-corrected.pdf
5. ABC, 11/18/24, https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-confirms-plan-declare-national-emergency-military-mass/story?id=115963448
6. Associated Press, 7/12/25, https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-trump-immigration-crime-ice-criminal-dangerous-violent-99557d9d68642004193a9f4b7668162e
7. Economic Policy Institute, 7/10/25, https://www.epi.org/publication/trumps-deportation-agenda-will-destroy-millions-of-jobs-both-immigrants-and-u-s-born-workers-would-suffer-job-losses-particularly-in-construction-and-child-care/
8. Children’s Defense Fund, 9/24/24, https://www.childrensdefense.org/blog/new-report-reveals-the-scale-of-state-violence-inflicted-on-migrant-children-and-families-under-operation-lonestar/
9. Veronica Escobar, 7/16/25, https://escobar.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1908
10. Car Source, 9/6/25, https://www.carsauce.com/car-news/hyundai-rocked-by-major-u-s-mass-deportation-scandal
11. Navigator Research, 7/10/25, https://navigatorresearch.org/americans-look-for-humanitarian-balanced-immigration-reform/?emci=047831f4-045d-f011-8f7c-6045bda9d96b&emdi=13524098-725d-f011-8f7c-6045bda9d96b&ceid=1391803