The number of illegal immigrants living in the United States dropped by 1 million people in two years, according to new estimates by the Department of Homeland Security.

The government thinks that 10.8 million illegal immigrants lived in the country in January 2009, down from a peak of nearly 12 million in 2007.

OAS_AD('ArticleFlex_1')

If the official estimates are correct, not since 2005 has the population of illegal immigrants been as low as it was last year.