US immigrant population down by more than a million people amid Trump crackdown

The immigrant population of the United States, which has been growing for more than 50 years, has declined by more than a million people since Donald Trump took office in January and defined immigration as a threat to the nation, not one of its strengths.

According to a new study 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, that number had dropped to 51.9 million.

Among all US residents, 15.4% were immigrants as of June 2025, 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.

The center pointed to several policy changes that have affected immigrant populations across the US, including Joe Biden’s restrictions on asylum applications in 2024, which led to a significant decrease in border crossings involving immigrants seeking asylum.

Additionally, the center pointed to Donald Trump’s 181 executive actions targeting immigration, including the arrival of new immigrants and the mass deportation of noncitizen immigrants.

The center noted that the change in the data could be due to a declining survey response rate among immigrants.

Mexico remains the largest origin country among US immigrants. As of mid-2023, more than 11 million US residents were born in Mexico, marking nearly a quarter, or 22%, of all immigrants nationally. Nevertheless, immigration from Mexico has declined since 2007 and the Mexican-born population in the US has dropped. From 2010 to 2023, the Mexican share of the US immigrant population dropped from 29% to 22%, according to Pew’s research.

The second-largest immigrant group was from India, at 3.2 million, or 6% of the total immigrant population, as of mid-2023. The next largest immigrant groups were from China, at 3 million, or 6%, followed by the Philippines, at 2.1 million, or 4%, and Cuba, at 1.7 million, or 3%.

In July, a Guardian analysis of arrest and deportation data revealed how Trump has “supercharged the country’s immigration enforcement apparatus – pushing immigration officials to arrest a record number of people”.

The analysis found that average daily arrests were up by 268% compared with June 2024 and that the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (Ice) was targeting all unauthorized immigrants, including people with no criminal records.

The analysis also found that the US has deported more than 8,100 people to countries that are not their home country.

Trump’s crackdown on immigration has shown no signs of stopping, with the state department announcing this week that it is reviewing the records of more than 55 million foreign citizens with visas allowing them to visit or reside temporarily in the US for potential revocation.