The population of illegal migrants from India has jumped to 619,000, up almost 70 percent from 2010 to 2018, according to a report in the New York Times.

The population estimate comes from the pro-migration group the Center for Migration Studies (CMS), which is expected to release a report Wednesday, February 26.

The report estimates that the overall illegal population in the United States is dropping as migrants return to their home countries, amid President Donald Trump’s enforcement of immigration laws.

The New York Times reported:

New data that will be released on Wednesday by the Center for Migration Studies shows there were 10.6 million immigrants living unlawfully in the United States in 2018 compared with 11.75 million in 2010, a decline propelled primarily by Mexicans returning south. …

The population of unauthorized Mexicans in the United States declined by a quarter between 2010 and 2018, the new immigration figures show, amid stepped-up deportations and an improved Mexican economy that has encouraged many people to go home voluntarily. And Mexicans, the largest foreign-born population in the United States, are not the only nationality electing to leave. The undocumented population from South Korea has dropped by 22 percent, and Poland’s has plummeted more than 50 percent — returning to countries that have enjoyed economic prosperity.

However, many other illegals are no longer counted as illegals because they manage to get green cards and citizenship via the routine “Adjustment of Status” process.

The CMS study also downplays the annual number of “anchor babies” and the several hundred thousand migrants from Central America. Those migrants were allowed into the country during 2018 and 2019 via “catch and release” rules, even though most of them will lose their claims for asylum. So far, few have been deported.

Other organizations estimate a much larger population of illegals. For example, in September 2019, a report by the Federation for American Immigration Reform estimated that roughly 14.3 million illegal aliens are living across the United States.

The CMS study also discounts the huge economic impact of legal immigration, which shifts much wealth from central states to coastal states, from young people to old people, and from wage-earners to stock investors.

The CMS study’s warning about the Indian illegal population complements a June 2019 report by the Pew Research Center that said India is now the leading source of legal migrants into the United States:

More than 1 million immigrants arrive in the U.S. each year. In 2017, the top country of origin for new immigrants coming into the U.S. was India, with 126,000 people, followed by Mexico (124,000), China (121,000) and Cuba (41,000).

The fast-growing Indian illegal population is largely employed by the fast-growing population of legal Indian visa workers, which now stands at roughly one million.

Govt data shows 1 million Indian contract-workers get white-collar jobs in tech, banking, health etc.

The Indian hiring ignores many EEOC laws & is expanding amid gov't & media silence.

It is a huge economic & career loss for US college grads.#S368 #H1B https://t.co/pqEW9yJ89c — Neil Munro (@NeilMunroDC) February 17, 2020

Those contract workers have their own spouses and family members of at least 350,000 people, and they tend to shop at Indian-owned stories that often employ the illegals.

The expanding flow of Indian legal and illegal migrants spotlights the vast population of poor young Indians and also the Indian government’s economic strategy of exporting workers to other countries, including the United States.

India’s population is so huge that India has roughly 178 million young men aged 20 to 34. That number is more than one young Indian male for every two Americans in the entire U.S. population of 329 million.

In 2019, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deported just 1,616 Indians, up from 611 deportations in 2018, according to a January report by the Times of India. ICE also detained 8,447 Indian migrants, up from 2,306 in 2014.

Migration to the United States is extensively covered by India’s media:

The flow of legal and illegal Indian migrants will likely accelerate if the S.386 bill pushed by Utah’s GOP establishment becomes law.

The bill would quadruple the annual number of green cards offered to Indians, up to roughly 100,000 a year. The bill would dramatically increase the incentives for Indian graduates to work in the United States via the Occupational Practical Training programs and would provide more Indian employers for Indian illegals.

India’s government supports the S.368 bill, partly because government officials want to maximize the number of Indians working abroad. The Indian news site, DeccanHerald.com reported February 26:

The most important foundations of this special friendship between India and America are our people-to-people relations,” [Primie Minister Narendra] Modi said as he and Trump addressed media-persons after a meeting at Hyderabad House in New Delhi. … “Be it, professionals or students, Indian Diaspora in America has been the biggest contributor to this (growth of India-US relations),” Prime Minister said on Tuesday, adding: “These ambassadors of India are not only contributing to the economy of the United States with their talent and hard work. Rather, they are also enriching American society with their democratic values and rich culture.”

The S.368 bill is being pushed by Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) under intense pressure from Utah’s business establishment.