Report: Georgia’s population of immigrants without legal status falls

The estimated number of immigrants living illegally in Georgia fell by 50,000 to 375,000 between 2009 and 2014, largely because of a drop in Mexicans, a Pew Research Center report released Tuesday shows.

Georgia is one of seven states that saw an overall decrease during that time, according to the report, which is based on census data. The other states are: Alabama, California, Illinois, Kansas, Nevada and South Carolina. All of them saw declines in their numbers from Mexico.

Six states saw overall increases between 2009 and 2014: Louisiana, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington.

Nationwide, the unauthorized population has stabilized as the numbers from Mexico have declined while totals from other regions — including Asia, Central America and sub-Sahara Africa – have risen. There were 11.1 million living in the U.S. in 2014 compared to 11.3 million in 2009, a change that is not statistically significant according to the Pew Research Center. Mexicans still account for more than half of that total at 52 percent.