Immigration: The Numbers and the Process — What We Know, What We Don’t, and How Removal Actually Works

⚖️ IMMIGRATION: THE NUMBERS AND THE PROCESS — what we know, what we don’t, and how removal actually works.

Nobody reputable counts unauthorized immigrants at the county level — not for Brunswick County, not anywhere small. The solid numbers are statewide: an estimated 425,000 to 450,000 unauthorized immigrants in North Carolina, and the Charlotte immigration court (which covers the Carolinas) issued 21,712 removal orders in fiscal 2025, with another 18,286 through August of this year. 👇

WHY NO BRUNSWICK COUNTY NUMBER

The estimators — Migration Policy Institute, Pew Research Center — use the “residual method”: Census data minus estimated legal immigrants. It works nationally and by state, but falls apart for small counties. MPI publishes county numbers for only 286 counties; Brunswick isn’t one. (Just 10 NC counties make the list.) The courts and ICE report by court location and field office, not by where people live. And the Census doesn’t ask legal status — every figure is an estimate, never a count.

STATEWIDE

• MPI: ~450,000 unauthorized immigrants in NC (2023).

• Pew: ~425,000 — NC was one of 8 states growing 75,000+ from 2021–2023. ~4% of the state; Mexico top country of birth.

• Nationally: ~14 million unauthorized (Pew); 1.4M+ living under final removal orders not yet carried out.

OUR REGION’S COURT

Charlotte Immigration Court (both Carolinas — can’t be split):

• FY2025: 21,712 removal orders, up 52%.

• Jan–Aug 2026: 18,286 — ~90% of completed cases. Only 203 granted relief.

• Backlog: ~119,000–129,000, 9th largest in the US.

• Nationally FY2025: 485,456 removal orders; 306,557 in absentia (never showed up).

Note: an order is a judge’s decision — ICE carrying it out is separate, and many ordered people are never located.

HOW A FINAL ORDER HAPPENS

1. Notice to Appear after apprehension (border, ICE arrest, flagged overstay).

2. Master calendar hearing — rights explained, charges answered. No government lawyer provided.

3. Individual hearing — evidence from both sides; person can seek asylum, withholding, cancellation, or adjustment.

4. Judge decides: removal order, relief, or voluntary departure.

5. Skip court = ordered anyway (“in absentia”) — 310,000+ nationally in FY2025.

6. Appeal: 30 days to the Board of Immigration Appeals, then federal circuit court — filing doesn’t pause removal by itself.

7. “Final” = appeals done or never filed. Only then can ICE execute it.

CRIMES THAT TRIGGER REMOVAL

• Aggravated felonies (murder, rape, child sexual abuse, drug/firearms trafficking, fraud over $10,000) — deportable, almost no relief.

• Drug offenses, firearms offenses, domestic violence, stalking, child abuse/neglect.

• “Crimes of moral turpitude” — theft, fraud, assault with intent.

• Improper entry: federal misdemeanor (up to 6 months; 2 years repeat).

• Illegal reentry after removal: federal felony (up to 2 years; 10–20 with serious priors).

• Being here without authorization is a CIVIL violation, not a crime. The crime is the entry — or coming back after removal.

BOTTOM LINE: no credible Brunswick County count exists. Statewide: 425,000–450,000 and growing. Our court’s ordering removals at a record pace — 9 in 10 cases. And the path runs through a years-long backlog where most people never get a lawyer.

Sources: MPI; Pew Research Center; Executive Office for Immigration Review; WFAE/Public Radio East; American Immigration Council.