Trump orders ICE to expand efforts in NYC, LA, Chicago: See how many immigrants live in major metros
In a lengthy June 15 Truth Social post, President Donald Trump called for the "largest mass deportation program in history," calling on ICE officers to expand detentions and deportations in Los Angeles, Chicago and New York, which he described as part of "the core of the Democrat Power Center."
The post came after a weekend of nationwide "No King's Day protests and a military parade in the nation's capital to celebrate the Army's 250th birthday, a day that coincided with Trump's 79th birthday.
According to U.S. Census data, The New York metro area has the nation's largest foreign-born population, followed by Los Angeles, Miami, Houston and Chicago. Trump did not mention Miami or Houston in his post, though they have some of the nation's largest foreign-born populations.
Which cities have the most immigrants?
Across the nation, immigrants make up roughly 14% of the population, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Nearly two-thirds of foreign-born residents live in 20 major metropolitan areas, the Pew Research Center reported. The New York, Los Angeles and Miami metro areas had the largest population of immigrants. About 60% of the nation's undocumented population lives in these same metro areas.
Immigrants make up 19.2% of the civilian labor force. Immigrant workers made up 28.6% of all people employed in the construction industry, according to the Census Bureau.
According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, undocumented immigrants paid $96.7 billion in federal, state and local taxes in 2022. Of that amount, $59.4 billion was paid to the federal government, and the remaining $37.3 billion was paid to state and local governments.
The U.S. Census American Community Survey of 2023 collected data on the cities Trump mentioned and the others in the top five. Here's the demographic breakdown:
Los Angeles City
Census Bureau data shows nearly half of Los Angeles' population is Hispanic or Latino, and a third of all residents living there are immigrants. This includes foreign-born U.S. citizens and noncitizens. Although the exact count of undocumented immigrants in the city is not known, a 2020 study by University of Southern California Dornsife, estimated about 900,000 people in Los Angeles were undocumented and that most had been in the United States for 10 years or more.
According to the nonprofit California Budget and Policy Center, immigrants make up roughly one-third of workers in the state, comprising an outsize share of the workforce in physically intense sectors like construction and agriculture.
Economists say having fewer immigrants in the United States could weaken the economy, causing labor shortages and slowing economic growth. A 2024 analysis from Jamshid Damooei, executive director at the Center for Economics of Social Issues at California Lutheran University, found that work from undocumented employees created an additional 1.25 million jobs in California. 37.9% of Los Angeles-area workers were immigrants in 2023, according to USAFacts.
Chicago
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker defended sanctuary laws protecting undocumented immigrants at a congressional hearing June 12. 'Safe and compassionate immigration policies, I believe, are vital. In fact, my own family owes everything to this country accepting a young refugee named Nicholas Pritzker to its shores over a century ago," he said.
The Illinois TRUST Act prohibits state and local law enforcement from arresting, searching or detaining a person because of their immigration status. The law prohibits local police from cooperating with federal immigration officers, with some exceptions. 23% of Chicago-area workers were immigrants in 2023, according to USAFacts.
New York City
ICE recently arrested New York City comptroller and Democratic mayoral candidate Brad Lander as he attempted to escort a man out of immigration court. The arrest, which went viral, is the latest standoff between federal agents and Democratic officials opposed to the Trump administration's tactics to detain mass numbers of immigrants.As of 2022, an estimated 412,000 undocumented immigrants lived in the city, according to the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs. That's a decline of 32% from 2012. Immigrants make up nearly 40% of the total population in New York City.
Immigrants made up 44.3% of the city's total labor force − more than double the national share of 18.6%, according to the New York State Comptroller's Office.'Many industries in the city depend on these workers, including construction, where foreign-born workers made up almost 70% of all workers, while 65% worked in transportation and utilities, and nearly 55% worked in manufacturing,' the report said. In 2023, 36.8% of New York-area workers were immigrants in 2023, according to USAFacts.
Miami
Miami recently voted to enter a 287(g) agreement with federal immigration authorities. The partnership will allow local Miami police to enforce federal immigration laws. Local and state police in Florida already have 292 signed and pending agreements, the most of any state.
Miami is home to more than 252,000 immigrants, representing 55% of the city's total population, according to the Census Bureau. In 2023, 50.7% of Miami-area workers are were immigrants in 2023, according to USAFacts.
Houston
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is expected to sign legislation that requires all county police to sign agreements with ICE, according to the Houston Chronicle. The partnership with federal immigration officials would allow local police to investigate the immigration status of people in their jails.About 70 counties in Texas already signed 287(g) agreements as of June.
About 24% of Houston's population are immigrants, according to Census Bureau data. Immigrants make up nearly a third of the Houston workforce, according to the nonprofit American Immigration Council. As of 2023, 31% of Houston-area workers were immigrants, according to USAFacts.
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