The fate of unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. remains one of the nation’s fiercest political fights. But who are the people behind the debate?
New estimates released by the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank, provide fresh detail on the varied backgrounds and characteristics of the 600,000-plus unauthorized immigrants living in 2023 in Harris County, home to the second-most immigrants in the nation behind Los Angeles County.
The data arrives as the federal government pursues a nationwide mass deportation push felt in Houston, where a sizable majority of residents harbor positive feelings toward immigrants and largely prefer opening pathways to citizenship for people living in the country illegally, Kinder Institute surveys show.
The estimates, which are based on Census data and internal modeling, show Harris County’s unauthorized immigrants largely hail from Mexico and Central America. But they also illustrate the demographic, educational and class diversity of the population, most of whom have lived in the U.S. for more than a decade.
The Migration Policy Institute defines unauthorized immigrants as people who entered the country without legal authorization, overstayed a visa or have an indefinite right to live in the U.S. through programs like Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and Temporary Protected Status.
These charts summarize the institute’s latest estimates. Data is not yet available for 2024 or 2025. Full estimates are not available for neighboring counties.
Arriving from neighbors, staying in the U.S.
Most unauthorized immigrants in Harris County were born in Mexico or one of three Central American nations, while a small share hail from Venezuela, according to the estimates. The Migration Policy Institute's data only highlights the five countries with the largest estimated populations.
While immigration from Mexico and Central America spiked for much of the first half of the decade, the estimates show most of Houston’s unauthorized immigrants arrived well before the recent increase.
Slightly more than half of unauthorized immigrants in Harris County have spent 15-plus years living in the U.S., while roughly one-quarter have been in the country for less than five years, according to estimates.
A younger group, some with kids
Harris County’s unauthorized immigrant population has an above-average share of young and middle-aged adults relative to local and national averages, along with a lower share of children and elderly people.
Roughly 60% of the local unauthorized immigrant population is between the ages of 18 and 44, compared to 37% of all U.S. residents, according to Census data.
Among unauthorized immigrants in Harris County who are 15 years or older, a slight majority do not live with children, while most of those with children saw their kids born in the U.S, according to estimates.
Schooling and language skills
Most unauthorized immigrants who are 25 years or older and living in Harris County do not have a high school diploma, according to estimates. Nearly one-quarter of the population has completed at least some college.
By comparison, about 17% of Harris County residents in the same age group have less than a high school diploma and 60% have attended at least some college.
With regard to language proficiency, an estimated three-quarters of unauthorized immigrants in Harris County are limited English proficient, meaning they reported speaking English “well,” “not well” or “not at all” versus either “very well” or only speaking English. About two-thirds of unauthorized immigrants nationwide are limited English proficient, according to Migration Policy Institute estimates.
On the job, but struggling to get ahead
The labor force participation rate for unauthorized immigrants in Harris County hit 63%, according to estimates, with about 385,000 working-age people employed, 26,000 unemployed and 147,000 not in the labor force. The participation rate is virtually identical to the national average.
Most employees worked in lower-paying fields that left their families with a modest household income.
Estimates show about one-quarter of unauthorized immigrants living in Houston had a household income below the poverty line, which was $14,580 for an individual and $30,000 for a family of four in 2023.
