FACT FOCUS: Posts overestimate number of noncitizens living in US by tens of millions

[PSPS]

FACT FOCUS: Posts overestimate number of noncitizens living in US by tens of millions
By MELISSA GOLDIN

After the Trump administration announced Thursday that it is reviewing the valid visas of more than 55 million people, social media users began using this figure to inflate the number of noncitizens living in the U.S. by tens of millions. Posts claimed that these 55 million visa holders, plus about 25 million or more people living in the country illegally, means that nearly a quarter to a third of the people living in the U.S. are not American citizens. The total U.S. population is about 342 million. But government data contradicts these figures, and experts say the estimates spreading online are highly inflated.

Here’s a closer look at the facts.
CLAIM: Approximately 70 million to 100 million people living in the U.S. are not American citizens.
THE FACTS: This is false. There were nearly 22 million noncitizens residing in the U.S. in 2023, according to the latest Census Bureau data. That includes people in the country both legally and illegally.

The 55 million visas, which includes tourist visas, is not representative of U.S. residents, as not everyone with a visa resides in the U.S. The number of people in the U.S. illegally is nearly 14 million, according to a recent Pew Research Center report. Trump routinely inflates the number of people living in the country illegally, the majority of whom he says entered under the Biden administration, most recently citing totals of 25 million to 30 million.

“The 55 million figure is the total number of visa-holders worldwide, not people who are currently in the United States,” said Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council. “The 25 million figure for undocumented immigrants is also completely false.”

Still, many social media users overstated the number of noncitizens living in the U.S., pointing to these figures.

More: https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-trump-visas-illegal-immigrants-foreigners-7c9c4ee9da74de9cf146c8c4f23dbb47

[Wiz Imp]

1. Well, Duh! Only MAGAs would be stupid enough to think there were 100 million non-citizens living in the US

[Ping Tung]

2. Demagogue: one who preaches doctrines he knows to be untrue to men he knows to be idiots. H.L. Mencken

[J_William_Ryan]

3. "...many social media users overstated the number of noncitizens living in the U.S."

Conservative social media users lie about the number of noncitizens living in the U.S.

[Midnight Writer]

4. So do our current government officials.