Counting American illegal immigrants

If you've asked anyone about the number “illegal immigrants” in the United States between the turn of the century and today, you'll invariably hear something like 11 million.

This is a remarkable number because it's the only one that stays the same. In contrast, the S&P 500 was 1,425 in January of 2000 and it's about twice as high today. A 48” flat screen TV was $10,000 in 2000 and is just $300 today.

You get my drift. If the Bretton Woods agreement never happened and one had to replace gold as the perfect benchmark for the US Dollar, the number of illegal would be it; or would it? Not in my modest opinion.

I don't believe in that fixed, 11 million number. Estimating that figure is extremely difficult if not impossible as there's no central database of illegal aliens. We're only dealing with estimates and since “illegals” have a strong motive to lie when asked about their immigration status, the accuracy of these figures is doubtful, at best.

My conclusion is that no one knows for sure and that number could be 15 to 25 million or perhaps even more. What's your guess?