Nearly 40% of undocumented immigrants in fiscal year 2023 arrived legally, and NEVER LEFT – NaturalNews.com

• Nearly 40 percent of undocumented immigrants in 2023 arrived legally but overstayed their visas (739,450 cases), overtaking illegal border entries as a key source of unlawful migration.
• India ranks among the top sources of overstays (19,000 in 2023) and is the third-largest contributor to the U.S. undocumented population (725,000). Some Indian nationals also exploit weaker northern border enforcement.
• While border security dominates debates, visa tracking remains weak. Policies like visa revocations without notice target overstayers, but critics claim they disproportionately affect students and skilled workers.
• Addressing illegal immigration now requires dual focus—securing borders and improving exit tracking, penalties, and diplomatic efforts to curb overstays.

For decades, the image of illegal immigration in America has been dominated by scenes of chaotic border crossings. But a new federal report reveals a quieter, yet equally troubling trend. Nearly 40 percent of undocumented immigrants in fiscal year 2023 arrived legally, and then simply never left.

According to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) data, 739,450 foreign nationals overstayed their visas in 2023. This shift exposes a critical weakness in U.S. immigration enforcement, one that no wall can fix.

The DHS report confirms that while 860,000 individuals entered the U.S. unlawfully via the southern border in 2023, another 510,000 became undocumented by overstaying visas issued for tourism, education or temporary work. This marks a continuation of a pattern first observed in 2007, when visa overstays surpassed illegal crossings as the primary source of unauthorized migration. (Related: Visa overstays now a major driver of U.S. illegal immigration, surpassing border crossings.)

Historical data from the Center for Migration Studies underscores the reversal. Four hundred thousand people crossed the border illegally in 2000, compared to just 225,000 visa overstays. By 2007, overstays took the lead – a trend that has persisted despite periodic spikes in unlawful entries, such as the surge seen after 2019.

Not all overstayers come from the same regions. India, for example, ranks as the seventh-largest source of visa violators, with 19,000 nationals overstaying in 2023 – down from 25,000 in 2016. Yet India remains the third-largest contributor to America’s undocumented population overall, with an estimated 725,000 illegal residents, trailing only Mexico and El Salvador.

The U.S.-Canada border has also seen an unusual uptick in illegal crossings by Indian nationals—1,600 apprehensions in 2023, quadruple the total of the previous three years combined. This suggests that some may be exploiting weaker northern enforcement as an alternative to high-risk southern crossings.

While overstays now account for a significant share of illegal immigration, the southern border remains in crisis. In 2023, U.S. Border Patrol recorded over two million arrests for the second consecutive year, with Mexican nationals making up a third of those entries. Countries like Guatemala, Honduras and Haiti also featured prominently in illegal crossing statistics.

Troops and walls are not enough to address America’s immigration crisis

The contrast between the two pathways – one loud, the other nearly invisible – raises urgent questions about enforcement priorities. Building walls or deploying troops may deter unlawful entries, but such measures do nothing to track those who enter legally and vanish into the interior.

The Trump administration has taken a harder line on visa compliance, particularly targeting high-risk groups – warning Indians not to overstay U.S. visas or risk lifetime bans to the country. In May, the U.S. Embassy in India issued a blunt warning: Overstayers risk deportation and lifetime bans. The message echoed an April 30 advisory from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS), which stressed that visas are a privilege, not a right.

New policies now allow immigration officers to revoke visas without notice, a move that disproportionately impacts foreign students and skilled workers. With 270,000 Indian students enrolled in U.S. universities in 2023, many on temporary visas, the stakes are high. Violations such as dropping out of school or unauthorized employment could trigger swift expulsion.

The rise of visa overstays challenges long-held assumptions about how to combat illegal immigration. For years, political debates have fixated on border security while visa tracking systems languished. The DHS report proves that enforcement must be a two-front battle: Stopping unlawful entries while ensuring those who enter legally do not outstay their welcome.

America’s immigration crisis is no longer just about who gets in; it’s about who fails to leave. Without better exit tracking, stricter penalties and diplomatic pressure on high-overstay nations, the U.S. will continue fighting half the battle.

Migrants.news has more similar stories.

Watch this video about the U.S. State Department pausing new visa interviews for international students.

This video is from the Children Are NOT Sex Toys! channel on Brighteon.com.

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Sources include:

YourNews.com

Statista.com

ZeroHedge.com

Brighteon.com