More Than 1.2 Million Immigrants Disappeared From The Labor Force Since Trump Took Office, Report Claims

Over 1.2 million immigrants are no longer part of the workforce, a new study claims, as the Trump administration continues cracking down and seeking to conduct its mass-deportation policies.

The Associated Press reported on Monday that the figure comes from preliminary Census Bureau data analyzed by the Pew Research Center and includes both people legally and illegally in the country.

The outlet added that immigrants make up almost 20% of the workforce in the country and are overrepresented in industries like farming (45%) and construction (about 30%). Moreover, 24% of service workers are immigrants, according to Pew senior researcher Stephanie Kramer.

"It's unclear how much of the decline we've seen since January is due to voluntary departures to pursue other opportunities or avoid deportation, removals, underreporting or other technical issues," Kramer told the outlet. "However, we don't believe that the preliminary numbers indicating net-negative migration are so far off that the decline isn't real," she added.

The report comes after a report from the organization detailed in August that the migrant population in the United States shrunk for the first time in more than 50 years.

The Pew Research Center detailed that since January the number of immigrants in the country dropped by about 1.4 million in the first six months of the year, clocking in at 51.9 million. It is the first decline since the 1960s, the center added.

Deportations have ramped up under the Trump administration, and many undocumented immigrants — along with those on temporary or vulnerable legal statuses — have voluntarily left, often out of fear of detention or removal.

In fact, a recent NPR report claimed that factories across the U.S. are preparing for staffing gaps as federal immigration protections lapse and work authorizations are revoked.

At GE Appliances, for example, team leader and union steward Jaelin Carpenter said four members of her 26-person crew suddenly lost status after the Trump administration ended programs that had allowed two-year work authorization for people fleeing crises.

"They were calling me asking me if they're on the run. 'Does this mean I'm getting deported today?'" Carpenter told NPR, adding that the workers handled difficult hose and motor-platform installs and that constant retraining raises the risk of mistakes. GE spokesperson Julie Wood said the company is consulting on compliance and expanding its fill-in pool to manage uncertainty.

In all, GE Appliances says 148 employees have already lost eligibility to work, and union stewards on its Louisville lines describe abrupt vacancies in "critical jobs."

Discussing the reduced workforce, Jeffrey Passel, senior demographer at the Pew Research Center, said "the data we're looking at represents a dramatic shift."

"The working-age population in the U.S. isn't growing. That means the only way for the labor force to expand is through new immigrants. If the workforce stalls, the economy faces challenges."

A recent analysis by FWD.us estimates that eliminating these protections could reduce immigrant spending power by $13.4 billion annually and cut tax contributions by at least $3.2 billion. The economic toll would be felt across several key industries, with potential job losses including about 73,000 in leisure and hospitality, 60,000 in construction, 46,000 in manufacturing, 44,000 in health services, 36,000 in wholesale and retail, and 34,000 in business services.