For the first time in decades, more immigrants are leaving the United States than arriving, a new study finds, an early indication that President Trump’s hard-line immigration agenda is leading people to depart — whether through deportation or by choice.
An analysis of new census data released on Thursday by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center found that between January and June, the foreign-born population in the United States — both lawful and unlawful residents — declined by nearly 1.5 million. In June, the country was home to 51.9 million immigrants, down from 53.3 million six months earlier.
Officials from the Trump administration have applauded the net outflow, asserting that pressures on government services have eased and that job markets have rebounded. And some supporters of the immigration crackdown say it hasn’t gone far enough.
But experts predict looming negative economic and demographic consequences for the United States if the trend persists. Immigrants are a critical work force in many sectors, and the country’s reliance on them is growing as more baby boomers retire.
After campaigning on a promise of mass deportations, Mr. Trump has introduced sweeping measures to reduce immigration. His administration has restricted access to asylum at the southern border, tightened visa requirements for students and tech workers and deployed thousands of federal agents to detain and deport undocumented immigrants. The crackdown has led immigrants to leave the country voluntarily and has discouraged others from coming.
Lillian Divina Leite, 46, chose to use the government’s new self-deportation program to return to Brazil. A housekeeper in Charlotte, N.C., Ms. Leite said that she had begun to panic when she saw immigrants being “hunted down like hardened criminals.”
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