section_path: Profile and demographics/Trends
section_name: Trends
paragraph_text: Trends
  
  In 2017, illegal border crossing arrests hit a 46-year low, and were down 25% from the previous year. NPR stated that immigrants may be less likely to attempt to enter the US illegally because of President Trump's stance on illegal immigration. The majority of illegal immigrants come from Mexico. Studies have shown that 40 million foreign born residents live in the US, while 11.7 million of that population is illegal. During the 1950s, there were 45,000 documented immigrants from Central America. In the 1960s, this number more than doubled to 100,000. In the decade after, it increased to 134,000. In 2019, after being threatened with punitive tariffs, Mexico agreed to a deal with the US to better stem the flow of migrants passing through the country to enter the US. In September 2019, Mexican foreign minister Marcelo Ebrard stated that immigration to the U.S. through Mexico has decreased significantly, and that this trend is "irreversible.... It is something that we think will be permanent."