Preliminary data from the period between January and July indicates a disappearance of over 1.2 million immigrants from the labor force, a trend that suggests President Donald Trump’s mass deportation policies will have a significant impact on the workforce, according to The Independent.

Pew Research Center's analysis of census data shows that immigrants, who make up nearly 20% of the labor force and are crucial in industries from construction to services, are declining in number due to Trump’s immigration crackdown.

It is unclear how much of the decline can be attributed to voluntary departures versus removals directed by the Trump administration, largely because data on undocumented immigrants is notoriously difficult to obtain due to widespread underreporting.

The decline in foreign-born labor force participation, which is reflected in an official Bureau of Labor Statistics estimate of a 1.2 million-person drop between January and July, coincides with an overall decline in the country's immigrant population.

Trump's presidential campaign heavily relied on his promises to deport millions of immigrants in the United States, using false data to claim that illegal immigrants were taking jobs away from Americans.

ICE raids scare immigrants away from certain sectors

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The sectors of farming, fishing, and forestry, which employ roughly 45% of immigrants working in the US, have seen a decline in participation since the directive was given to Immigration and Customs Enforcement to conduct sweeping deportation raids.

According to Elizabeth Rodriguez, the director of farm worker advocacy for the National Farmworker Ministry, who told the Associated Press, "We have a large labor force that is undocumented," and "We’ve seen ICE particularly targeting construction sites and attempting to target mechanic and repair shops." According to Rodriguez, a worker shortage during the May cantaloupe and watermelon season led many crops to go to "waste."

ICE officers have previously stormed several farms to arrest immigrants, potentially deterring them from working in these farms.

White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson argued that no labor shortage exists, stating the administration's belief that there are more than enough American workers to fill the needs of the labor force, and that the president's policies are designed to create jobs for them while enforcing immigration laws.

Construction projects face major delays under shortages

In the wake of Trump’s immigration crackdown, other sectors like construction have also faced worker shortages, a significant challenge given that roughly 30 percent of all construction workers are immigrants, according to the Pew Research Center.

The Associated General Contractors of America reported at the end of August that a workforce shortage is causing project delays for approximately 92 percent of construction companies.

For years, as many construction companies have struggled to find qualified workers to assist on projects, tens of thousands of immigrant workers have helped close the gap, allowing for projects to be built on time.

Another major sector likely to be impacted is home healthcare, a field where immigrants constitute roughly 43 percent of home care aides according to Pew and, as census data analyzed by KFF suggests, 28 percent of the direct healthcare workforce.

Trump's decision to end various asylum programs that provide immigrants with temporary legal status could, by reducing the pool of eligible workers, hurt the quantity of providers for home aide services, assisted living facilities, or nursing homes.