Immigration & refugees

Report: 1.2M Immigrants Exited U.S. Workforce in First Half of 2025

Published SEP 2 2025

Story

Above: A Guatemalan migrant deported from the United States carries luggage after his arrival at the Guatemalan Air Force Base in Guatemala City on Aug. 31, 2025. Image credit: JOHAN ORDONEZ/AFP/Getty Images

The Facts

Over 1.2 million immigrants left the U.S. labor force from January through July, according to preliminary Census Bureau data analyzed by the Pew Research Center, including legal residents and undocumented individuals.
WJXT
The Associated Press
Immigrants constitute nearly 20% of the U.S. workforce. Per the report, immigrants comprise 45% of farming, fishing and forestry workers, 30% of construction workers, and 24% of service workers.
Businessday NG
WJXT
Benzinga
The decline coincides with the first drop in the overall immigrant population after unauthorized immigrants reached 14 million in 2023. Causes of the decline include voluntary departures, deportations and technical reporting issues.
The Independent
Korea JoongAng Daily
Immigration enforcement actions caused crop waste during peak watermelon and cantaloupe season in May, with construction sites described as "completely dead" in border areas like McAllen, Texas.
Latintimes
Fox19
Construction jobs reportedly declined in about half of U.S. metropolitan areas, with the largest losses of 7,200 jobs in Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, California and 6,200 jobs in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale.
CBS News
AGC of America
This comes as the Trump administration's Department of Homeland Security reported that Immigration and Customs Enforcement has removed nearly 200,000 people since January with a special focus on operations in sanctuary cities. ICE reported that approximately 33% had "criminal histories."
FOX News
CNN

Sources Split

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The Spin

Pro-Trump narrative

President Trump's immigration policies stand triumphant — transforming America's most pressing crisis into a coherent policy through sheer determination. Criminal networks are being dismantled, sanctuary cities are being challenged and border crossings are plummeting. Where chaos once reigned, security is now starting to emerge. The Trump administration's unwavering enforcement is restoring law and order.

Daily Wire

New York Post

Anti-Trump narrative

Trump's cruel policies are being reflected in empty American construction sites and silent farms. Families cower in shadows, children wake fearing orphaned nights, and America's economic backbone is under duress. His "success" — terrorizing millions who built this nation — reveals a hollowed democracy accelerating towards authoritarianism.