Washington D.C., Sep 25, 2013 / 23:37 pm
As the Pope and bishops continue to call for the just and humane treatment of migrants, a new survey has found that the population of unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. may be rising.
In a Sept. 24 preliminary estimate, the Pew Research Center concluded that a decline in the U.S. population of unauthorized immigrants following the 2007-2009 recession has stalled.
Studying U.S. Census data, the research organization noted that between 2007 and 2009, the population of undocumented immigrants in the country fell from 12.2 million to 11.3 million people.
However, as the economy has recovered, the sharp decrease in undocumented immigration in the country has slowed, and Pew estimated that as of March 2012, the number had climbed to 11.7 million, according to government data.