Legal and political status Many countries have had or currently have laws restricting immigration for economic

or nationalistic political reasons. United Nations Security Council Resolution 1373 concerning counter-terrorism, enacted in October 2001, requested of UN member states to restrict immigration laws. 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. Immigrants who do not participate in these legal proceedings or who are denied permission under them and still enter or stay in the country are unauthorized immigrants, as well as people born on national territory (henceforth not "immigrants") but who have not obtained nationality of their birthplace and have no legal title of residency.[48] Most countries have laws requiring workers to have proper documentation, often intended to prevent or minimize the employment of unauthorized immigrants. However the penalties against employers are often small and the acceptable identification requirements vague and illdefined as well as being seldom checked or enforced, making it easy for employers to hire unauthorized labor. Unauthorized immigrants are especially popular with many employers because they can pay less than the legal minimum wage or have unsafe working conditions, secure in the knowledge that few unauthorized workers will report the abuse to the authorities. Often the minimum wages in one country can be several times the prevailing wage in the unauthorized immigrant's country, making even these jobs attractive to the unauthorized worker.[citation needed] In response to the outcry following popular knowledge of the Holocaust, the newly-established United Nations held an international conference on refugees, where it was decided that 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.[49] 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. 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. Some argue that the freedom of movement both within and between countries is a basic human right and that nationalism and immigration policies of state governments violate this human right that those same governments recognize within their own borders. According to the article 13 on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, fundamental human rights are violated when citizens are forbidden to leave their country. However, immigrants are not assured the right to enter a country, that right is given at the host country's discretion.[citation] Since unauthorized 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. This lack of access may result in the creation or expansion of illegal underground forgery to provide this documentation.[50] When the authorities are overwhelmed in their efforts to stop "illegal" immigration, they have historically provided amnesty. Amnesties waive the "subject to deportation" clause associated with illegal aliens. [edit]By country or region [edit]Angola Main article: Illegal immigration in Angola In 2007 around 44,000 Congolese were forced to leave Angola.[51] Since 2004, more than 400,000 unauthorized immigrants, almost all from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, have been expelled from Angola.[52][53] [edit]Australia Main article: Illegal immigration in Australia Official government sources put the number of visa overstayers in Australia at approximately 50,000. This has been the official number of unauthorized immigrants for about 25 years and is considered to be low. Other sources have placed it at up to 100,000, but no detailed study has been completed to quantify this number, which could be significantly higher. [edit]Bhutan Main article: Illegal immigration in Bhutan Immigration in Bhutan by Nepalese settlers (Lhotshampa) began slowly towards the end of the 19th century. The government passed the Bhutanese Citizenship Act 1985 to clarify and try to enforce the Bhutanese Citizenship Act 1958 to control the flood of illegal immigration. Those individuals who could not provide proof of residency prior to 1958 were adjudged to be illegal immigrants. In 1991 and 1992, Bhutan expelled roughly 139,110 ethnic Nepalis, most of whom have been living in seven refugee camps in eastern Nepal ever since. The United States has offered to resettle 60,000 of the 107,000 Bhutanese refugees of Nepalese origin now living in U.N. refugee camps in Nepal. The Bhutanese government, even today, has not been able to sort the problem of giving citizenship to those people who are married to Bhutanese, even though they have been in the country for 40 years.[54] [edit]Brazil Main article: Illegal immigration in Brazil

Aerial view of So Paulo, where most illegal immigrants in Brazil live. Brazil has long been part of international migration routes. In 2009, the government estimated the number of unauthorized immigrants at about 200,000 people; a Catholic charity working with immigrants said there were 600,000 unauthorized immigrants (75,000 of which from Bolivia). That same year, the Brazilian Parliament approved an amnesty, opening a six-month window for all foreigners to seek legalization irrespective of their previous standing before the law. Brazil had last legalized all immigrants in 1998; bilateral deals, one of which promoted the legalization of all reciprocal immigrants with Bolivia to date, signed in 2005, are also common.[55] Unauthorized 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.[55] Most unauthorized immigrants in Brazil come from Bolivia, Paraguay, Peru, China (mainly from Fujian), North Korea and sub-Saharan Africa. A Federal Police operation investigated Chinese immigrants who traveled through six countries before arriving in So Paulo to work under substandard conditions in the textile industry.[56] After signing the 2009 amnesty bill into law, President Lula said, in a speech, that "repression and intolerance against immigrants will not solve the problems caused by the economic crisis", thereby also harshly criticizing the "policy of discrimination and prejudice" against immigrants in developed nations. An October 2009 piece from O Globo, quoting a UNDP study, estimates the number of unauthorized immigrants at 0.7 million,[57] and points out to a recent wave of xenophobia among the general populace.[58] [edit]Canada Main article: Illegal immigration in Canada There is no credible information available on unathorized immigration in Canada. Estimates range between 35,000 and 120,000 unauthorized immigrants in Canada.[59] 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.[60] 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 unauthorized immigrants.[61][62] 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.[63]

[edit]Chile Chile has recently become a new pole of attraction for unauthorized immigrants, mostly from neighboring Peru and Bolivia but also Ecuador, Colombia, Dominican republic, Paraguay and Haiti. According to the 2002 national census, Chile's foreign-born foreign population has increased by 75% since 1992.[64] [edit]People's Republic of China Main article: Illegal immigration in the People's Republic of China People's Republic of China is building a security barrier along its border with North Korea to prevent the defectors or refugees from North Korea.[65] 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.[66] 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.[67] [edit]Dominican Republic Dominican Republic, an island nation shared with Haiti, has many unauthorized immigrants coming from Haiti. Over a million unauthorized Haitian immigrants on Dominican soil (over 10% of the total population).[citation needed] The loyalty of foreign nationals and illegals can be questionable, especially when they do not consider the adopted country as "their home." (See statement in "Victims" section) [edit]European Union Wikinews has related news:Italian police find 24 children living in Rome's sewers

The European Union is developing a common system for immigration and asylum and a single external border control strategy.[citation needed] Many reports from local Greek islands, near the Turkish coast indicate that Turks equip migrants with boats and knives and tell them to cut the boat when they reach Greek waters. Greek authorities are then forced to deal with the influx of thousands of unauthorized immigrants under EU rules. According to a BBC report, over 80% of the unauthorized immigrants entering the European Union now pass through Greece.[68] Greek police are unable to work with their counterparts in Turkey because the Turkish army is responsible for their border.[69] 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.[70] The Turkish newspaper Hrriyet 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.

This practice allegedly resulted in the drowning of six people between Chios and Karaburun Peninsula on 26 September 2006 while three others disappeared and 31 were saved by Turkish gendarmes and fishermen.[71] However, there are also numerous non-Turkish claims and testimonies that Turkish authorities and/or citizens lead immigrants through the sea, often resulting to the abandonment and sometimes drowning of said immigrants. A tough new EU immigration law detaining illegal immigrants for up to 18 months before deportation has triggered outrage across Latin America, with Venezuelan President Hugo Chvezthreatening to cut off oil exports to Europe.[72][73] [edit]United Kingdom Main article: Illegal immigration in the United Kingdom There are between 550,000 and 950,000 unauthorized immigrants in the United Kingdom, with a figure of 750,000 as the most likely number.[74] 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 unauthorized immigrants into the UK. Many of the unauthorized 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.[75][76] Recently, a study carried out by the University of Oxford's Centre on Migration, Policy and Society (COMPAS) has estimated that there are 120,000 irregular migrant children in the UK, of whom 65,000 born in the UK to parents without legal status. The study shows that these children are at risk of destitution, exploitation and social exclusion because of contradictory and frequently changing rules and regulations which jeopardise their access to healthcare, education, protection by the police and other public services.[77] [edit]France Main article: Illegal immigration in France In France, helping an unauthorized immigrant (providing shelter, for example) is prohibited by a law passed on December 27, 1994.[78] The law was heavily criticized by non-governmental organizations such as Cimade and GISTI, left-wing political parties such as the Greens and the French Communist Party, and trade-unions such as the magistrates' Syndicat de la magistrature. The linguistic differentiations between anglophone and francophone rhetoric are important when considering the topic of French illegal immigration. In French, the term "irrgulire" is used (literally irregular), whereas in English, the term more often used is "illegal." Often, instead of referring to someone's irregular immigrant status, 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.[79][80] It is important to distinguish unauthorized immigrants from other forms of immigrants and residents in France. Some immigrants to France are asylum-seekers, and once granted asylum,

they are no longer illegal/irregular, though they are immigrants. There are also children who are born to immigrants in France, who are not immigrants themselves, but they are still considered foreigners by the French national government. One does not merely need to be a foreign immigrant in order to be a foreigner in France.[81] 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, there is also the strong feeling among French citizens that those non-native people who gain French citizenship should also conform to the cultural aspects of French life.[82] French law prohibits anyone from assisting or trying to assist "the entry, movement, or irregular stay of a foreigner in France." One found guilty of these acts can be imprisoned for up to five years and fined 30,000. There are also quotas for the number of arrests that should be made in such cases: 5,000 arrests for 2009 and 5,500 arrests for 2011.[83] France has an Immigration Ministry (L'immigration, l'intgration, l'asile et le dveloppement solidaire) which begun functioning in 2007 under President Sarkozy. The goal of these quotas and laws put forth by the government is to combat smugglers who profit financially from moving immigrants into, through, and out of France, according to the Immigration Minister, Eric Besson.[81][83] Calais is an important site when considering unauthorized immigrants in France. This is where many move go to try to cross the English Channel towards Great Britain, the goal for many of them, as it is believed to be easier to gain asylum or refugee status there.[84] In Calais, when trying to pass through customs towards Great Britain, truck drivers can be fined up to 2,500 if unauthorized immigrants are found on board their truck when it is searched.[85] There is an area of Calais known as "the Jungle", which houses many of the ones who are waiting to get into Great Britain. There was a police raid here in September 2009, which was seen as a political move by authorities to show their efforts in public to control illegal immigration.[84] Many non-governmental organizations, such as Secours Catholique and the Red Cross are involved in the situation as well. These NGOs 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 that housed thousands of sans papiers in an effort to discourage them from trying to cross the border. These immigrants simply moved to other parts of the Calais region.[84] Philippe Lefilleul, a member of Secours Cotholique, stated that aid workers from these NGOs do not condone the illegal immigration of people to France, but they feel that it is their "duty as fellow human beings and as Christians" to help them.[84]

The French film "Welcome" is a portrayal of a sans papiers young man trying to cross the English Channel from Calais and his interactions with a swimming instructor in Calais. It was a controversial film when it was released because it moves a very sensitive political and social topic into a very important French cultural venu: film. Other French films that address the topic of French immigration, especially illegal immigration, are "Entre les murs" and "La Haine", which address cultural and political situations surrounding immigration in Parisian suburbs and the country at large.[86] [edit]India Main article: Illegal immigration in India

ABVP against Bangladeshi illegals It is estimated that several million unauthorized immigrants live in India. Precise figures are not available, but the numbers run from anywhere from a few hundred thousand to 20 million. Especially in Eastern India, these are mainly economic migrants from Bangladesh. India is constructing barriers on its eastern borders to combat the surge of migrants. The IndoBangladeshi barrier is 4,000 km (2,500 mi) long. Presently, India is constructing a fence along the border to restrict illegal traffic from Bangladesh.[87] This obstruction will virtually isolate Bangladesh from India. The barrier's plan is based on the designs of the Israeli West Bank barrier and will be 3.6 m (11.8 ft) high. The stated aim of the fence is to stop infiltration of terrorists, prevent smuggling, and end illegal immigration from Bangladesh.[88][89] [edit]Iran Wikinews has related news: 46 illegal Afghan immigrants suffocate in truck in Pakistan

Since late April 2007, the Iranian government has forcibly deported back to Afghanistan mostly unregistered (and some registered) Afghans living and working in Iran at a rate between 250,000 and 300,000 per year. The forceful evictions of the refugees, who lived in Iran and Pakistan for nearly three decades, are part of the two countries' larger plans to repatriate all Afghan refugees within a few years. Iran says that it will send 1,000,000 by next March, and Pakistan announced that all 2,400,000 Afghan refugees, most living in camps, must return home by 2009. Experts[who?] say it will be "disastrous" for Afghanistan.[90][91][92] [edit]Israel Main article: Illegal immigration from Africa to Israel

Demonstration against the expulsion of illegal immigrants and their families from Israel, Tel Aviv, 2009 In May 2012, Israel introduced a law which would allow unauthorized immigrants to be detained for up to three years, a measure that the Interior Ministry intended to stem the flow of Africans entering Israel across the desert border with Egypt. Tens of thousands of migrants, mostly from Sudan and Eritrea, had crossed the border between 2009 and 2012.[93] Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that "This phenomenon is very grave and threatens the social fabric of society, our national security and our national identity."[94] [edit]Libya Wikinews has related news:Shipwreck off coast of Libya; hundreds of African migrants feared dead

Main article: Illegal immigration in Libya Libya is home to a large illegal Sub-Saharan African population which numbers as much as 2,000,000.[95] The mass expulsion plan to summarily deport all undocumented foreigners was announced by Libyan leader Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi in January 2008. "No resident without a legal visa will be excluded."[96][97] [edit]Malaysia Main article: Illegal immigrants in Malaysia There are an estimated 800,000 unauthorized immigrants in Malaysia.[98] 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.[99] An ethnic Indian Malaysian was recently sentenced to whipping and 10 months in prison for hiring six unauthorized 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. unauthorized immigrants also face caning before being deported.[100] [edit]Mexico Main article: Illegal immigration in Mexico

In the first six months of 2005 alone, more than 120,000 people from Central America have been deported to their countries of origin. This is a significantly higher rate than in 2002, when for the entire year, only 130,000 people were deported.[101] Another important group of people are those of Han Chinese origin, who 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.[102] Many women from Eastern Europe, Asia, and Central and South America are also offered jobs at table dance establishments in large cities throughout the country causing the National Institute of Migration (INM) in Mexico to raid strip clubs and deport foreigners who work without the proper documentation.[103] In 2004, the INM deported 188,000 people at a cost of US$10 million.[104] Illegal immigration of Cubans through Cancn tripled from 2004 to 2006.[105] In September 2007, Mexican President Caldern harshly criticized the United States government for the crackdown on unauthorized immigrants, saying it has led to the persecution of immigrant workers without visas. "I have said that Mexico does not stop at its border, that wherever there is a Mexican, there is Mexico", he said.[106] 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."[107] 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."[108] [edit]Nepal In 2008, Nepal's Maoist-led government has initiated a major crackdown against Tibetan exiles with the aim to deport to China all Tibetans living illegally in the country. Tibetans started pouring in Nepal after a failed anti-Chinese uprising in Tibet in 1959.[109] [edit]Pakistan Main article: Immigration to Pakistan#Illegal immigration 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,[110] Bangladeshi,[111] Tajiks, Uzbeks, Turkmens, Iranians, Indians, Sri Lankan,Burmese[112][113] and Britons[114] including a sizeable number of those of Pakistani origin. Other significant expatriate communities in the country are Armenians, Australians, Turks, Chinese,[115]Americans,[116] Filipinos,[117] Bosnians[118] 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 fromPakistan. [edit]Philippines It was estimated by Teresita Ang-See, a prominent leader and activist of the Chinese Filipino community, that by 2007, as much as 100,000 illegal immigrants from China are living in the Philippines, a tenth of the ethnic Chinese population. The latest influx has come in part because of Manila's move in 2005 to liberalise entry procedures for Chinese tourists and investors, a move that helped triple the number of Chinese visitors to 133,000 last year. Many of the new Chinese immigrants encounter hostility from many Filipinos, including Filipino-born Chinese, for being perceived as engaging in criminal activities and fraud.[119] [edit]Russia Main article: Illegal immigration in Russia 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 1012 million unauthorized immigrants in the country.[120] There has been a significant influx of ethnic Georgians, Armenians, Azerbaijanis, Tajiks, andUzbeks into large Russian cities in recent years, which has been viewed very unfavorably by many citizens and contributed to nationalist sentiments.[121][122][123] Many immigrant ethnic groups have much higher birth rates than native Russians, further shifting the balance. Some Chinese flee the overpopulation and birth control regulations of their home country and settle in the Far East and in southern Siberia. Russia's main Pacific port and naval base of Vladivostok, once closed to foreigners, today is bristling with Chinese markets, restaurants and trade houses.[124] This has been occurring a lot since the Soviet collapse. Illegal border crossing is considered a crime, and captured illegal border crossers have been sentenced to prison terms. For example, Rossiyskaya Gazeta reported in October 2008 the case of aNorth Korean who was detained after illegally crossing the Amur River from China. Considered by Russian authorities an "economic migrant", he was sentenced to 6 months in prison and was to be deported to the country of his nationality after serving his sentence, even though he may now risk an even heavier penalty there. That was just one of the 26 cases yearto-date of illegal entrants, of various nationalities, receiving criminal punishment in Amur Oblast.[125] [edit]Saudi Arabia Main article: Illegal immigration in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia started construction of a separation barrier between its territory and Yemen to prevent the unauthorized movement of people and goods into and out of the kingdom. See Saudi-Yemen barrier. In 2006, Saudi Arabia proposed plans for the construction of a security fence along the entire length of its 560-mile (900 km) desert border with Iraq in a multimillion-pound project to secure the kingdom's borders in order to improve internal security, control illegal immigration, and bolster its defences against external threats.[126] Saudi Iraq barrier

[edit]South Africa Main article: Illegal immigration in South Africa South Africa is home to an estimated five million unauthorized immigrants, including some three million Zimbabweans.[127][128][129] 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 atarted on May 11, 2008 against unauthorized immigrants, who are accused of increasing the amount of crime and unemployment.[130][131] see (Zimbabwean diaspora) [edit]Syria 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,[132] with nearly 100,000 fleeing to Syria and Jordan each month.[133][134] 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.[135][136] 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.[137] 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.[138][139][140] [edit]Turkey Main article: Illegal immigration in Turkey Turkey receives many economic migrants from nearby countries such as Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia, but also from North Caucasus, Central Asia, Afghanistan and Pakistan.[141][142] 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.[143] [edit]United States Main articles: Illegal immigration to the United States and Anchor baby

Immigrant rights march for amnesty in downtown Los Angeles, California on May Day, 2006. Between 7 million and 20 million unauthorized immigrants are estimated to be living in the United States but the nature of illegal immigration makes the exact number difficult to determine.[144] Estimates from the Pew Hispanic Center show the number of unauthorized immigrants has declined to 11.1 million in March 2009 from a peak of 12 million in March 2007.[145] The majority of the unauthorized immigrants are from Mexico.[146] Illegal immigration has been a longstanding issue in the United States, creating immense controversy. Harvard University economist George J. Borjas explains that the controversy centers around the "huge redistribution [of wealth] away from [unskilled U.S. Citizen] workers to [American employers] who use illegal immigrants."[147] In 2007, President George W. Bush called for Congress to endorse his guest worker proposal, stating that unauthorized immigrants took jobs that Americans would not take.[147] The Pew Hispanic Center notes that while the number of legal immigrants (including LPRs, refugees, and asylum seekers) arriving has not varied substantially since the 1980s, the number of unauthorized immigrants has increased dramatically and, since the mid 1990s, has surpassed the number oflegal immigrants.[148] Penalties for employers who hire unauthorized immigrants range from $2,000$10,000 and up to six months' imprisonment.[149] However, penalties for employers go largely unenforced. Political groups like Americans for Legal Immigration[150] have been formed to fight illegal immigration by demanding that the US enforce immigration laws and secure the borders. However, ALIPAC has also called for "safe departure" border checkpoints, free of criminal checks, for illegal activities.[151] In a 2011 news story, Los Angeles Times reported, " ... illegal immigrants in 2010 were parents of 5.5 million children, 4.5 million of whom were born in the U.S.and are citizens. Because illegal immigrants are younger and more likely to be married, they represented a disproportionate share of births 8% of the babies born in the U.S. between March 2009 and March 2010 were to at least one illegal immigrant parent."[152] Immigration from Mexico to the United States has slowed in recent years. In 2011, official Border Patrol statistics showed that apprehensions of migrants along the U.S.-Mexico border

had reached their lowest point in forty years, indicating the fewer migrants were attempting to cross the border; in 2012, a Pew Hispanic Center report showed that from 1999-2000, over 700,000 Mexicans entered the United States, but by 2009 only about 150,000 entered.[153] As a 2011 report by the Washington Office on Latin America points out, the lessened flow of migrants into the United States has been attributed to several factors, including the slowing of the U.S. economy, the buildup in security along the U.S.-Mexico border, and increased violence on the Mexican side of the border.[154] [edit]Puerto Rico See Dominican immigration to Puerto Rico#Illegal immigration [edit]Venezuela An estimated 200,000 Colombians have fled the Colombian civil war and sought safety in Venezuela. Most of them lack identity documents and this hampers their access to services, as well as to the labor market. The Venezuelan government has no specific policies on refugees.[155][156]