Donald Trump’s hardline immigration policies — including mass deportations, more arrests, and restrictions on legal entry — have caused the first significant decline in the immigrant population in decades, hitting the backbone of the US economy. This also happens to be the first time the US has seen a decline in the immigrant population since the sixties.
According to a study by the Pew Research Centre — which was released this Thursday — the immigrant population decreased by nearly 1.5 million between January and June 2025, bringing the total number of immigrants in the US down to about 51.9 million from 53.3 million earlier this year.
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“The data we are looking at represented a dramatic change,” the Pew Research Centre’s senior demographer, Jeffrey Passel, told NBC News.
The impact of this decline is also being felt in the labour market. According to the Pew Research Centre, the workforce has lost over 750,000 workers due to the reduction in immigrant numbers.
“The US population of working-age people isn’t growing. That means the only way the workforce can grow is from new immigrants coming in,” Passel explained, adding, “If the workforce isn’t growing, it’s harder for the economy.”
The shift in immigration trends began in 2024 under the Biden administration, which introduced changes at the border. However, the Trump administration’s aggressive stance has markedly accelerated the trend. Passel further said that the massive drop in the immigrant population is unprecedented.
Interestingly, the Pew study highlights that the number of unauthorised immigrants has also started to decline. This follows a period of record growth, which saw their numbers peak at 14 million in 2023. Increased deportations and the removal of deportation protections under the Trump administration are key factors driving this decline.
While the overall immigrant population is decreasing, the US still hosts the largest number of immigrants globally. However, other countries like Canada and the United Arab Emirates have higher proportions of immigrants relative to their populations. In the US, immigrants constituted 15.8% of the population in January, but this figure fell to 15.4% by June.
The demographic of unauthorised immigrants is also shifting, with more arriving from South America instead of traditional sources like Mexico and Central America, the Pew report further pointed out. Notably, Texas and California remain the leading states for immigrant populations, though the gap between them has significantly narrowed over the years.
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