Immigrant population falls by more than a million people since Donald Trump took office in January.
The immigrant population of the United States, which had been on a growing trend for the last 50 years, has declined by more than a million people since Donald Trump took charge in January 2025 as the 47th President.
According to the latest study conducted by the Pew Research Center, there were a record 53.3 million immigrants in the US in January, when Trump took office for the second time. By June 2025, that number had dropped to 51.9 million. Among all US residents, 15.4% were immigrants, down from the recent historic high of 15.8% in January. The Pew survey also found that 750,000 immigrant workers had dropped out of the US labor force since January, which is now 19% foreign-born.
Trump’s mission to lead a massive crackdown against illegal immigration since taking over has seen officials arresting and/or detaining more than a 100,000 people cumulatively. The stringent curbs have now prompted a decline in the immigration population for the first time in over five decades. The number has declined sharply in the ensuing months as more immigrants left the country or faced deportation than arrived. The foreign-born population had shrunk by more than a million people by June — marking its first decline since the 1960s.
The Census Bureau data analyzed by researchers showcased that 19% of the U.S. labor force were immigrants, down from 20% and by over 750,000 workers since January.
Policy decisions and Presidents
- The study has cited several policy changes over the past year to explain the fluctuations. Donald Trump has made extensive efforts to curtail both legal and illegal immigration with nearly 200 executive orders signed over the past eight months.
- This included mass deportation of non-citizen immigrants and restrictions on the arrival of new immigrants.
The crackdown appears likely to continue — with the Trump administration announcing fresh policy changes in the ongoing August end-week. Authorities have stated that they would be reviewing the records of more than 55 million US visa holders to assess if they had broken any conditions for entry or stay in the country. Officials suggest that people under an US visa will face “continuous vetting” with the document being revoked if there were any aberrations.
- Meanwhile the USCIS (United States Citizenship & Immigration Services) has announced that its officers will now outrightly deny an application without issuing requests for more evidence or intent-to-deny notices in case of an incomplete or flawed family-based green card petitions.
- Applicants can also face risk of immediate removal proceedings if their submissions are not in perfect order.
- Efforts are also being made to restore restrictions and enforcement priorities from the first Trump presidency — including expanded legal grounds for mandatory detention and fewer opportunities to contest deportation.
Changing policies are also likely to affect tourists with the Trump administration making it mandatory for travellers from some countries to pay a $5,000 – $15,000 bond (as reported earlier) and an entry fee to obtain a tourist visa.
Helene Elliott is the senior reporter for News Raise. She covers Science news. She also has a keen interest in photojournalism. Helene holds a nomination for the prestigious Red Smith Award. She is married to author Dennis D’Agostino, a former publicist with the New York Mets.
