How does the number of legal immigrants in the US compare to the number of undocumented immigrants in 2025?

1. Summary of the results

The available analyses suggest that in the mid-2020s the United States had a foreign‑born population roughly in the low‑50 millions, with unauthorized immigrants constituting a substantial but minority share. One synthesis estimates 53.3 million foreign‑born people with about 15.4 million unauthorized, leaving roughly 38 million as legal immigrants (naturalized citizens, lawful permanent residents, or other legal statuses) ^[1]. Pew‑style estimates cited in the materials put the unauthorized population nearer to 14 million in 2023, consistent with the range above and indicating that unauthorized immigrants are a sizable subset but smaller than the legally present foreign‑born population ^[2]. A June 2025 snapshot reported 51.9 million immigrants, and broke that population into categories: 46% naturalized citizens, 23% lawful permanent residents, and 27% unauthorized — which implies a larger number of legally present immigrants than unauthorized ones, consistent with the previous totals ^[3].

The trend context in these sources shows a recent decline in total immigrant numbers and in some estimates the unauthorized population specifically. One report noted a decline of 1.4 million immigrants as of June 2025, describing the first drop in over 50 years ^[4]. Another piece claimed about 1.6 million fewer unauthorized immigrants since certain enforcement changes began, though that item focused on departures and enforcement outcomes rather than net status counts ^[5]. Official policy notices and administrative actions have been highlighted across releases as affecting legal statuses and application backlogs, without producing a single consolidated 2025 snapshot of legal versus unauthorized totals ^{[6] [7]}.

2. Missing context / alternative viewpoints

The analytic snippets do not provide a single authoritative 2025 census‑style tally reconciling different methodologies, and that missing reconciliation matters because different sources use distinct estimation methods. Pew‑style unauthorized estimates rely on demographic residual methods and periodic surveys, which can yield slightly different totals than administrative counts or enforcement tallies; one analysis cites about 14 million in 2023 while another places unauthorized figures around 15.4 million in a broader foreign‑born total context ^{[2] [1]}. The June 2025 breakdown giving percentages (46% naturalized, 23% LPR, 27% unauthorized) is useful, but converting those percentages into exact headcounts depends on which total immigrant figure (51.9m versus 53.3m) one uses, producing different numeric comparisons ^{[3] [1]}.

Additionally, the sources emphasize recent policy and enforcement shifts that can change flows, statuses, and measurement windows: USCIS news releases and coverage of administrative rule changes reflect actions that can reduce legal immigration routes or speed removals, thereby altering year‑to‑year comparisons ^{[6] [7]}. Reports noting departures or declines — e.g., 1.6 million fewer undocumented or 1.4 million fewer immigrants overall — focus on net changes over specific periods rather than establishing a static headcount at a single date, and so they should be treated as complementary rather than definitive reconciliations of legal versus unauthorized totals ^{[5] [4]}.

3. Potential misinformation / bias in the original statement

Framing that asks simply “How does the number of legal immigrants compare to undocumented immigrants in 2025?” can be misleading if it implies high precision or a single definitive number, because the underlying sources use different totals and estimation methods ^{[1] [2] [3]}. Political actors or outlets may selectively cite the higher or lower estimates to support policy positions: citing a larger unauthorized count can be used to justify stricter enforcement, while emphasizing the larger legal immigrant population or declines in unauthorized totals can support arguments for reform or deemphasize security concerns ^{[7] [5]}. The USCIS and other administrative releases focus on policy changes and operational impacts, which can be used to frame shifts as successes or failures depending on audience and intent ^[6].

Finally, some reporting highlights aggregate decline in immigrant numbers without clarifying which subgroups drove the decline; that can create ambiguous impressions about “illegal immigration” versus lawful migration. For example, a report of 1.4 million fewer immigrants or 1.6 million departures among unauthorized migrants needs unpacking — whether the declines reflect emigration, changes in enforcement, naturalization of previously unauthorized people, or survey/estimation variation — because each explanation bears different policy and social implications ^{[4] [5]}.