Illegal immigration declines sharply in California: report

After years of rapid growth, illegal immigration is slowing down in California, mirroring the overall reduction in the number of illegal immigrants in the country, according to a newly-released report.

Californa's share of the nation's estimated 11.1 million undocumented immigrants dropped to 23 percent in 2009 from 42 percent in 1990, said the report published by the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday.

Several South Atlantic states between Delaware and Georgia that have become new immigrant magnets in recent years have also seen a decline in its illegal migrant population, according to the report from the Pew Hispanic Center.

Nationwide, the number of illegal immigrants living in the U.S. dropped to 11.1 million in 2009 from a peak of 12 million in 2007, the year described by the report as the "first significant reversal" in illegal immigrant growth over the last two decades.

Fewer illegal immigrants came to the U.S. every year between 2007 and 2009 than in the years in the first half of the decade, the report noted.

About 300,000 illegal immigrants entered the U.S. each year between 2007 and 2009, a drop from the 850,000 new unauthorized immigrants that entered each year between 2000 and 2005, according to the report.

The report cited the recession and increased border enforcement as possible reasons for the slowdown.

Source: Xinhua