(Liberty Nation)—Will the Golden State’s population decline rather than increase this year? It could, and already has, happened. Usually, there are more people moving to the territory than leaving. But in 2020, during President Donald Trump’s first term, California saw a decline in residents, a phenomenon many blamed on Trump. The state has more immigrants than any other in the nation, so it stands to reason that the president’s ambitious deportation policy will hit especially hard in the Golden State. And now some are very concerned they will see an even sharper decline than before.
Normally, California has between 140,000 and 150,000 people each year move in from other countries. In 2020, however, just 29,000 did so, which state officials blame on the Trump administration for stopping new visas for most of that year. There were other variables, of course, such as the COVID lockdowns that prevented international students from moving to California. And then there’s the steady birth rate decline across the nation.
Why California Is Worried About Deportations and Population Decline
According to the Public Policy Institute of California, the Golden State is home to 10.6 million immigrants. The most current year of data from 2023 showed that over a quarter of the state’s population was foreign born, more than double what other states had. Furthermore, almost half of the children have at least one immigrant parent, and a third of adults of working age (25 to 54) are foreign-born as well.
Immigrants and those here illegally work in key business sectors such as farming, construction, and hospitality. A June report by the Bay Area Council Economic Institute in partnership with University of California, Merced, found that about 11% of the Golden State’s small business owners are in the country illegally. In addition, about 700,000 are homeowners. The study projected that eliminating all undocumented immigrants from California would reduce economic activity by $275 billion, equivalent to 9% of the state’s GDP.
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