Unauthorized migration to the U.S. is frequent, though economic predictors are understudied. This study examined the predictive utility of U.S. economic metrics in relation to unauthorized migration 2000-2016. Findings indicated that economic metrics add significant predictive power to models predicting unauthorized migration up to 4 months later. The most predictive metric was the Consumer Confidence Index, indicating that the perception of U.S. economic health-rather than objective parameterization-is most relevant. To our knowledge, this is the first study to consider the Consumer Confidence Index and examine U.S. economic metrics over the last decade, in relation to unauthorized migration. Keywords Migration . Economics . Southwest . Mexico . Unauthorized Unauthorized migration to the U.S. remains substantial, with more than 415 thousand unauthorized migrants apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol during the 2016 Fiscal Year alone (U.S. Border Patrol 2016) and an estimated 11.2 unauthorized immigrants living in the U.S. in 2012-more than in any other nation (Rosenblum 2015). Broad conceptualizations of the causes of unauthorized migration to the U.S. cite varied Bpush^and Bpull^factors. Many widely researched push factors are economic in nature, centered on the basic notion that migrants experience inadequate income and employment opportunities in their home countries (Rosenblum 2015), and thus, are pushed to countries with those assets. When real wages in Mexico decline, for instance, apprehensions at the U.S.-Mexico border increase (Hanson and Spilimbergo 1996)suggesting an economic push for unauthorized migration to the U.S. Despite a large