Former Border Patrol commander at large Gregory Bovino told Tucker Carlson that the United States currently has “107 million illegal aliens” living “with impunity,” a number he framed as roughly one quarter of the country’s population, according to Headline USA’s write-up of their interview.
The claim on Carlson’s show
“Right now, in the US, I’ve got the number 107 million illegal aliens currently residing with impunity, one quarter of the total US population,” Bovino said, per Headline USA. When Carlson pressed him, Bovino repeated: “A hundred and seven million? Hundred and seven million. One quarter of the population. We’ve got three hundred and thirty thousand, approximately, American citizens, add another 107 million onto that.”
Carlson responded that the country “is a completely different country because it’s got a completely different population” and suggested Americans feel pressure not to talk about it, according to the same report.
How Bovino says he got to 107 million
Raw Story has reported that since March, Bovino has cited figures between 100 million and 108 million in multiple interviews, calling deportation of that population his “one and only priority.” Border Hawk reported that Bovino built his estimate by examining a 2006 financial document from the defunct Bear Stearns firm and then extrapolating using his own estimate of illegal crossings over two decades based on what he says he observed during his career.
What public estimates say
Demographers and immigration researchers have challenged Bovino’s number. According to the Pew Research Center’s most current data, the U.S. has roughly 14 million illegal immigrants within a total population near 340 million. The Independent reports that even counting all immigrants — legal and illegal — Census figures place that number closer to 50 million, or about 15% of the population.
