MIAMI, Feb. 12 (UPI) -- Florida is the only U.S. state where the number of undocumented immigrants decreased from 2000 to 2009, the federal government said.
Nationwide, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said, the number of undocumented immigrants in the United States increased to 10.75 million during that period.
As of January 2009, 720,000 undocumented immigrants lived in Florida, down 80,000 from 2000, The Miami Herald reported.
At least one expert suggested the decrease in Florida's undocumented immigrant population could be due to economic problems in the state.
"Florida has been a major immigration magnet for a long time and synonymous with immigration to the U.S. So if there is a downturn in the immigrant population in Florida, it underscores the state's fundamental economic problems," demographer William Frey of the Brookings Institution said.
Despite, the decrease, Florida still has the third-highest number of undocumented immigrants, behind California and Texas, the report said.
