The number of immigrant workers in the United States is declining. According to preliminary Census Bureau data analyzed by the Pew Research Center, more than 1.2 million immigrants left the labor force from January to June 2025. Per the report, 51.9 million immigrants lived in the U.S. as of June, down from a record high of 53.3 million (15.8% of the population) in January.
The report comes as immigration policies have evolved quickly under President Donald Trump. The president ran his 2024 campaign on the promise to deport illegal immigrants. Since January, aggressive Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids have swept the nation. According to the latest detention management data, 61,226 people are being held in ICE detention centers. While Trump had vowed to focus on deporting violent criminals, the data shows that at least 70% have no convictions.
Stephanie Kramer, senior Pew researcher, said immigrants make up around 20% of the workforce in the U.S. “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 said, per AP News. “However, we don’t believe that the preliminary numbers indicating net-negative migration are so far off that the decline isn’t real.”
Recent reports say deportations are up to the highest rate in 10 years, with at least 200,000 people deported so far. As ICE raids continue, many immigrants who do not have legal status have become afraid to leave their homes, leaving industries that rely most heavily on immigrant workers—like restaurants, construction, and farming—short-staffed.
In response to reports that businesses supplying the country’s food were being threatened, Trump in June directed ICE to pause arrests at farms, restaurants, and hotels. “Our great Farmers and people in the Hotel and Leisure business have been stating that our very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good, longtime workers away from them, with those jobs being almost impossible to replace,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “In many cases, the Criminals allowed into our Country by the VERY Stupid Biden Open Borders Policy are applying for those jobs. This is not good. We must protect our Farmers, but get the CRIMINALS OUT OF THE USA. Changes are coming!”
Immigrant workers aren’t the only ones leaving the workforce. Black employment has dropped as well. According to a Bureau of Labor Statistics report from August 1, 7.2% of Black Americans are unemployed compared with 4.2% of the general population. This is almost a 1% increase from the previous year, when 6.3% were unemployed.
In addition, a record number of women have left the nation’s workforce this year. According to a National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) review of monthly releases from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, since January a net 338,000 women have left the labor force. During the same period, there was a net gain of 183,000 men in the labor force.
