Often, undocumented immigrants are considered a population living in the shadows. But living below the radar of U.S. governmental authorities is no longer as accurate. As of the end of 2023, estimates indicate nearly six million, or nearly half, of the undocumented population has some level of liminal or protected status. At the same time, these protections are more temporary than before as most immigration policy now occurs in the executive, and not the legislative, branch, and is subject to dramatic shifts with a change in administration. Also, the diversity of protection types has grown. Using data for the U.S. case, this paper examines the broader implications of this trend on how the term “undocumented” is defined, as well as the advocacy and policy implications such new statuses portend. Having the world's largest undocumented population, the U.S. case can also shed light on our broader understanding of the undocumented label as a globally-referenced category.

中文翻译：

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受保护但未记录：美国移民身份不断增加的案例以及对美国及其他地区的理论、倡导和政策影响


通常，无证移民被认为是生活在阴影中的人群。但生活在美国政府当局的雷达之下已不再那么准确。截至 2023 年底，估计显示近 600 万（即近一半）无证人口处于某种程度的限制或受保护状态。与此同时，这些保护比以前更加临时，因为现在大多数移民政策都是由行政部门而不是立法部门制定的，并且会随着政府的更迭而发生巨大的变化。此外，保护类型的多样性也在增加。本文使用美国案例的数据，探讨了这一趋势对如何定义“无证”一词的更广泛影响，以及这种新状态预示的倡导和政策影响。美国拥有世界上最多的无证人口，这一案例也可以阐明我们对无证标签作为全球参考类别的更广泛理解。