Historic Decline in Immigration to the United States
The United States has witnessed a significant phenomenon in the realm of immigration, with the number of immigrants in the country decreasing by over a million between January and June, according to an analysis of census data published by the PEW Research Center. This decline marks the first time in more than half a century that the immigrant population in the US has experienced a drop.
Between 2021 and 2023, millions of people arrived at the US border, seeking refuge from the devastating effects of the Covid-19 pandemic in their home countries. California alone housed 11.3 million immigrants in 2023, accounting for approximately 28.4% of the total national total. However, the number of immigrants living in the US has decreased from 53.3 million in January to 51.9 million in June, with many being deported or abandoning their residency.
Causes and Consequences of the Decline
The decline in immigration has been attributed to the Trump administration’s efforts to restore law and order on the southern border and remove violent illegal immigrants from the nation. However, experts warn that this decline could have negative economic effects on the US, particularly in light of the country’s decreasing birth rate. According to Victor Narro, project manager of the UCLA Labor Center, “If we look forward in the future, we have to rely on immigrants to fulfill many jobs in this country… Whether you like it or not, demography will change in this country.”
The PEW analysis highlights several policy changes that have influenced the number of immigrants in the country, including the Biden administration’s proclamation in June 2024, which made it more difficult for migrants to seek asylum along the US border. The Trump administration has also implemented executive regulations to restrict entry to the country, seeking asylum, or calling other protective measures that would enable immigrants to remain temporarily in the US.
Expert Insights and Reactions
Michael Capuano, research director of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, views the decline as a positive start, stating, “We see it as a positive start… Obviously, the enforcement is now working on the border. The population begins to sink. We want this trend to continue because we ultimately believe that the politics of the past four years has been proven to be not sustainable.” However, Toby Higbie, professor of history and labor studies at UCLA, disagrees, saying, “Immigrants are a large part of American society… Those who are currently leading the Federal Government imagine that they can remove all immigrants from this society, but it simply won’t happen.”
The United States experienced a similar decline in immigration during the 1930s, during the global economic crisis, when at least 400,000 Mexican and Mexican Americans left the country. Higbie predicts that the current decline in immigration will not last long, particularly if the demand for workers increases. “You could say that there is a cycle in which we invite immigrants to work in our economy, and then there is a political reaction of some in our country, and they step on it and then we invite it,” he said.
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Source: www.latimes.com
