United States: immigration

How many people are crossing the US border?

U.S. Border Patrol made 10,939 apprehensions nationwide in August 2026, including 8,870 at the southwest border, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. At the southwest border, 7,624 were at ports of entry and 1,246 between them.

Apprehensions measure events, not people: one person caught twice counts twice. CBP also publishes encounters by its Office of Field Operations at ports of entry, including people found inadmissible, on the same page. Figures are by federal fiscal year (October to September), and monthly data are updated as records are finalised.

Official sources: CBP: Nationwide Encounters

How big is the immigration court backlog?

The immigration courts had 3,469,569 pending cases at the end of the third quarter of fiscal year 2026 (June 2026), down from 3,722,776 at the end of fiscal year 2025, according to the Executive Office for Immigration Review. In the first three quarters of fiscal year 2026 the courts received 391,145 new cases and completed 660,343.

Pending cases cover removal, deportation, exclusion, asylum-only and withholding-only proceedings. The backlog peaked at 3,924,993 at the end of fiscal year 2024, according to the same table. EOIR updates its adjudication statistics each quarter; the latest PDFs were generated on 24 July 2026.

Official sources: EOIR: Pending Cases, New Cases and Total Completions (PDF) · EOIR: Workload and Adjudication Statistics

How many people are granted asylum in the US?

Immigration judges granted asylum in 7,231 cases and denied 89,740 in the first three quarters of fiscal year 2026 (October 2025 to June 2026), according to Executive Office for Immigration Review asylum decision statistics. In fiscal year 2025 there were 26,599 grants and 82,431 denials, and in fiscal year 2024, 32,436 grants.

These are decisions by immigration courts on asylum claims made in court proceedings. They also record cases that were abandoned, withdrawn, not adjudicated or administratively closed, which make up a large share of outcomes. Asylum granted by USCIS asylum officers on applications made outside court is counted separately in DHS refugee and asylee reports.

Official sources: EOIR: Asylum Decisions (PDF) · EOIR: Workload and Adjudication Statistics

How many refugees does the US admit?

The President set a ceiling of up to 17,500 refugee admissions for fiscal year 2027 (October 2026 to September 2027), in Presidential Determination No. 2026-24 of 25 September 2026, published in the Federal Register on 2 October 2026. It says admissions are to be primarily allocated among Afrikaners from South Africa. For fiscal year 2026 the ceiling was first set at 7,500 and raised to 17,500 by an emergency determination published in May 2026.

The ceiling is a maximum, not a target, and actual arrivals are often lower. Refugees are people resettled from abroad; asylum seekers apply after reaching the US and are counted separately. Actual admissions are reported by the State Department and DHS.

Official sources: Federal Register: Presidential Determination on Refugee Admissions for FY 2027 (GovInfo) · Federal Register: Emergency Presidential Determination for FY 2026 (GovInfo)

How many people become US citizens each year?

USCIS welcomed 818,500 new citizens in fiscal year 2024 (October 2023 to September 2024), according to its naturalization statistics page, and says the three-year total was more than 2.6 million.

Naturalization is the process by which a lawful permanent resident (green card holder) becomes a citizen, usually after five years, or three if married to a US citizen. Figures are by fiscal year. DHS's Office of Homeland Security Statistics publishes more detail, including country of birth and state of residence, in its annual naturalization flow reports.

Official sources: USCIS: Naturalization Statistics

What share of the United States' population are immigrants?

The UN Population Division puts the share of people born abroad in the United States at 15.2% in 2024. That compares with 14.7% in 2015. Worldwide: 39th of 193.

Are more people leaving the United States than arriving?

According to the UN Population Division, net migration in the United States was 1.23 million in 2025. The peak was 1.89 million in 2016 and the low 329,769 in 2020. Of 193 countries with 2025 data, 2nd highest.

How many refugees does the United States host?

457,647: that is the number of refugees in the country in the United States for 2025, according to UNHCR. Its high point since 2005 was 2006, at 843,434; its low point was 2012, at 262,006. World rank, highest first: 19th of 169.

How many refugees have fled the United States?

3,667: that is the number of refugees from the country living abroad in the United States for 2025, according to UNHCR. The peak was 4,980 in 2014 and the low 297 in 2019. Worldwide: 82nd of 189.

How much money do migrants send home to the United States?

In 2025, personal remittances received in the United States was 0.0% of GDP, according to the World Bank. Since 2005 it has ranged from 0.0% of GDP (2022) to 0.0% of GDP (2009). Of 127 countries with 2025 data, 123rd highest.