Source: Fortune
Summary
A recent study by researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder found that the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown has led to a significant decline in the labor force, with over 1.2 million foreign-born workers leaving the workforce. This has resulted in a “chilling effect” on jobs, with U.S.-born workers also dropping out of the workforce in greater numbers. The study found that in areas with high ICE activity, U.S.-born male workers fell by 1,200, with one job loss for every six likely undocumented workers who left the labor force.
Our Reading
The strategy enters a familiar phase.
ICE activity surges, and jobs disappear. The numbers tell one story: 1.2 million foreign-born workers out, 1,200 U.S.-born workers out, and a 3% dip in construction employment. The Trump administration’s immigration crackdown has a clear impact: jobs lost, not gained. The “complementarity” of immigrant labor is clear, but the administration’s narrative is not.
The announcement sounds familiar: “mass deportations will free up job opportunities for U.S.-born workers.” But the data says otherwise. The economic costs of the president’s policies are starting to become clear, and the labor market is feeling the chill.
