[runarberg]

DHS—a very biased institution that has benefits of inflating the number—estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants residing in the USA in 2018 (the most recent number I could find), the foreign born population that same year was estimated at 36 million, meaning undocumented were at most one third of all immigrants. By far majority of the 11 million undocumented came from Mexico or central America. The path to legal status is extremely difficult from those countries and it is reasonable to assume majority of them would had taken the legal route if possible and had indeed family and/or jobs awaiting them across the border. While some may indeed have sacrificed everything, I very much doubt that figure is much higher than in the hundreds of thousands.

https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/immigra...

But than again, listen to what you are saying. Do you honestly want to live in a society where people are asked to “sacrificed everything” just because they happened to be born and raised a poor part of the country? Would you honestly prefer people struggle all of their childhood and most of their lives as young adults, only to than be forced to abandon their entire family, just to have maybe a shot at a better life? It may just be me, but I honestly would prefer there to be regulations and social services in place such that these lives are made easier.