Most illegals bring their families

WASHINGTON — The profile — young men sneaking across the U.S. border to find jobs and send money home to their families — is far from complete.

Young men are the largest group of illegal immigrants to the United States. But most bring their families and many have children born in this country, which makes the kids U.S. citizens.

"There's about 6.5 million adults who are in families, either couples or couples with children, and there's another 2 million children," said Jeffrey Passel, a senior research associate at the Pew Hispanic Center. "The vast majority of this population is families."

In the U.S., there are an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants. They tend to be younger than U.S. citizens, more likely to hold jobs but less likely to have high school diplomas.

Many families include relatives of differing immigration status. Nearly two-thirds of the children were born in the U.S., according to an analysis by the Washington-based research organization.

Senators now are debating legislation that would tighten border security while enabling illegal immigrants to become citizens.

One reason for the sudden broader interest: These immigrants now live in more cities and states than ever.

In 1990, almost half lived in California, the Pew analysis said. By 2004, California's share had dropped to about one-quarter, even though the state's illegal population had grown from 1.6 million to about 2.4 million.

They are moving to states like North Carolina, Iowa, Ohio and Georgia as they seek jobs and establish communities. North Carolina has nearly 16 times the number of illegal immigrants it had in 1990, the Pew analysis said. The state had 390,000 in 2004, the most recent state numbers available.

"I hear it everywhere I go," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. "Are we going to run this work force off? . . . What are you going to do about broken borders?"

South Carolina saw its illegal immigrant population hit 55,000 in 2004 — a 1,000 percent increase in 14 years.

The Pew center estimates there are as many as 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States, though researchers acknowledge that they are difficult to count. Other organizations have put the number at 11 million; all agree the total is rising quickly.

About one-quarter of them arrive in the U.S. legally and simply overstay their visas, Passel said.