Georgia only state to add undocumented immigrants in 2008?

In 2008, as the economy tanked and illegal immigrants were increasingly targeted by law enforcement, virtually every state in the nation witnessed a decline in the number of undocumented residents.

Every state, that is, but Georgia.

Georgia added 20,000 immigrants without papers in 2008, according to a surprising study by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Georgia’s unauthorized immigrant population rose 4 percent from 460,000 to 480,000.

Meanwhile, across the United States that year, the number of undocumented residents declined from 11.6 million to 10.8 million – a 7 percent drop.

“It’s shocking to see that Georgia is showing an increase based on the reports we’ve heard about the immigrant population leaving because of the recession and immigration laws,” said Millie Irizarry, CEO of the Latin American Association in Atlanta.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported earlier this week about a perceived population decrease or shift of Latinos out of certain locations in metro Atlanta, including Cobb and Gwinnett counties.

The recession, and the implosion of jobs, officially started in December 2007. The ensuing two years saw the unemployment rate in Georgia reach double figures. Construction, landscaping and factory jobs – the bread-and-butter work for north Georgia’s Hispanics – evaporated.

And, starting in July 2007, Cobb County began turning over undocumented immigrants to the feds for possible deportation, a tactic that forced thousands of Latinos underground or out of Cobb.

Nonetheless, Ariel Robles witnessed an increase in the Latino population -- legal and illegal -- in 2008, giving credence to the Homeland Security study released last week.

“In my church I’ve seen a growing population of Hispanics, both documented and undocumented,” said Pastor Robles of History Makers International Ministries, a charismatic Pentecostal church in Marietta. “Most have stayed. Atlanta’s economy is strong despite all the recession. And many are holding on at all costs for immigration reform.”

Nationwide, the unauthorized population – foreign-born non-citizens who are not legal residents – increased from 8.5 million to 11.8 million between 2000 and 2007, according to Homeland Security. They either came here illegally or overstayed visas. An estimated 62 percent hail from Mexico.

Between Jan. 1, 2007, and Jan. 1, 2009, though, as the economy cratered, one million fewer undocumented residents were tallied by Homeland Security.

Yet the report recommends “caution in interpreting changes in the size of the unauthorized population.” DHS suggests that sampling error and the reliability of census data used to quantify the undocumented population raise questions about the overall accuracy of its report. The feds also note that state-to-state migration further muddies an accurate count.

Still, Homeland Security's overall number of undocumented immigrants matches a study by the Pew Hispanic Center. But while Pew agrees that fewer undocumented Mexicans illegally crossed the border the last few years, there has been no considerable increase in Mexicans returning home.

Jerry Gonzalez, who’s leading a statewide census initiative for Latinos, said that both Homeland Security and the U.S. Census Bureau typically under count the nation’s Hispanic population. He’s skeptical of DHS’s latest Georgia count.

“I don’t think you can look at those numbers in isolation and truly see any kind of trend,” Gonzalez said. “Anecdotally, there have been stories of people moving away. But, by the same token, there have been stories of people doubling up in households like most Georgians trying to make it through the recession.”

Stepped-up immigration enforcement has reduced the Latino population in Cobb and Gwinnett counties, where deputies routinely turn over the undocumented to the feds for possible deportation. But many Latinos simply move to more immigrant-friendly counties like Douglas or DeKalb, Hispanic business, religious and community leaders say.