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Index/Topics/Administrative-Linkage Methods

Administrative-Linkage Methods

Method for estimating unauthorized immigrant population

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Jan 24, 2026

What methods do demographers use to estimate the unauthorized immigrant population and how do those estimates differ?

Demographers estimate the unauthorized immigrant population using several distinct approaches—most prominently the , , , and —and these approaches can produce different point estimates and trends beca...

Jan 18, 2026

What methodologies do researchers use to estimate the unauthorized immigrant population, and how do their results differ?

Three families of methods dominate efforts to count the U.S. unauthorized immigrant population: the residual estimation approach that subtracts estimated lawful immigrants from total foreign‑born coun...