A sharp decline in illegal immigration to the United States during the economic downturn has ended.
The Pew Research Center has found the number of immigrants in the US illegally edged up to 11.7 million in 2012 from 11.3 million in 2009.
The number of illegal immigrants had declined over several years from a high of 12.2 million in 2007.
The BBC reports that recent growth is largely driven by immigrants from outside Mexico.
"As a whole, with the recession ending, the decrease in illegal immigration has stopped," said Pew senior demographer Jeffrey Passel.
Immigrants from Mexico now make up 52% of illegal immigrants in the US, down from 57% in 2007, Pew estimated.
Meanwhile, illegal immigration from countries other than Mexico rose to a record 5.65 million in 2012, although the BBC reports that figure is preliminary.
