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USA Today
3 hours ago
- Politics
- USA Today
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 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 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. Read more: More than 600 local police agencies are partnering with ICE: See if yours is one of them
USA Today
6 hours ago
- Politics
- USA Today
Trump orders ICE arrests 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 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 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. Read more: More than 600 local police agencies are partnering with ICE: See if yours is one of them
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Fact-checking Trump's false accusations of undocumented immigrants and voting fraud in Los Angeles
After nearly a week of protests in Los Angeles against recent federal immigration enforcement sweeps in the city, President Trump doubled down on his administration's efforts to detain and deport immigrants without documentation, claiming they are a key voting bloc in Democratic cities. In a Truth Social post on Sunday, Trump said Los Angeles and "other such cities, are the core of the Democrat Power Center, where they use illegal aliens to expand their voter base, cheat in elections, and grow the welfare state, robbing good paying jobs and benefits from hardworking American citizens." But according to Los Angeles County election officials, that's simply not true. "That claim is false and unsupported, and only serves to create unsubstantiated concern and confusion about the electoral process," the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder's office said in a statement. In reality, the county has safeguards in place to ensure only eligible voters cast ballots and that all votes are accurately counted, said Mike Sanchez, spokesperson for the county's Registrar-Recorder's office. In the state of California there are five requirements a person must meet to register to vote, according to the California Secretary of State. To register an individual must be: A U.S. citizen. A resident of California. At least 18 years or older on or before Election Day. Not currently serving a state or federal prison term for the conviction of a felony. Not currently found mentally incompetent to vote by a court. When a person meets the eligibility criteria, they can register to vote which includes attesting under penalty of perjury that they meet all eligibility requirements, including being a U.S. citizen and a resident of California, said Sanchez. "This sworn statement is a legal declaration and serves as the foundation of the voter registration process," Sanchez said. Voting as a noncitizen is a felony that can lead to a year in jail or deportation, said Hasen. Though there are some cities in the United States where noncitizens can participate in local elections, for example in communities in Vermont and Maryland, participation is limited to voting in school board or city council elections. In California, San Francisco is the only city where noncitizens can vote and it is limited to the school board. Once a voter registers, their personal information is verified through the State Voter Registration database, which is done by cross-checking state Department of Motor Vehicle records or the last four digits of the person's Social Security number, Sanchez said. When the verification process is complete, a voter does not have to show their identification when voting in person. If verification has not occurred, the voter must show identification the first time they vote. Acceptable forms of identification include a driver's license, state-issued I.D or passport; the California Secretary of State has a complete online list of what identifying documents to take to the polling place. Once polling places open for voters within the county, the voter must sign a roster in the presence of election workers, who attest to their identity and eligibility. "Elections officials also conduct regular voter roll maintenance, checking against several data points including death records from the California Department of Public Health, Social Security Administration, Department of Motor Vehicles, and the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation," the California Secretary of State told The Times in a statement. For vote-by-mail ballots, the signature on the return envelope is compared to the one on file in the voter registration record, Sanchez said. If the signature does not match or is missing, the voter is contacted and given a chance to correct it. "Only verified ballots are accepted and counted," he said. The claim that immigrants lacking documentation vote in large numbers — and for Democrats — has been repeated for years. It has seeds in the once-fringe racist conspiracy theory called the "great replacement." According to a poll by the Associated Press and and NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, 1 in 3 Americans now believe "an effort is underway to replace U.S.-born Americans with immigrants for electoral gains." The theory has gained momentum under Trump. In 2016, Trump won the Electoral College and the presidency, but not the popular vote. That went to Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, who received about 2.9 million more votes. Trump then claimed, without evidence, that he would have won the popular vote if 3 to 5 million immigrants living in the country illegally hadn't voted. "About 3 million votes was the margin by which he lost the popular vote which is why I think he chose that 3 million number to try to explain away his popular vote loss," Hasen said. After losing his reelection bid in 2020 to Joe Biden, when voting by mail was a focus, Trump refocused on immigrants lacking authorization in the 2024 campaign and was ultimately voted back into the White House. "In 2024, when I think Trump and the Republicans concluded that the attacks on absentee ballots were actually hurting them because people don't want to show up in person to vote, the shift went back to immigration," Hasen said. Voter fraud claims echo whomever is trying to dictate the political narrative, according to Hasen. Researchers have found, repeatedly through decades of investigation, that fraud conducted by voters at the polls is virtually nonexistent and does not happen "on a scale even close to that necessary to "rig" an election, according to the Brennan Center for Justice. Many instances of reported fraud were due to clerical errors or human errors. "I think one of the things we've seen is people on the losing end of elections tend to be more likely to believe that there's cheating," Hasen said. "But Donald Trump has really supercharged things to the point where we're way beyond what we normally see in terms of partisan divisions." But Trump is not alone in fueling that theory recently. Last year as he campaigned for Trump, billionaire Elon Musk repeated those claims on his social media platform, X. "If the Democratic party gains enough voters to win an election by importing them and giving them free stuff, then they will do so," he posted in September. Yes, but likely not at the rate it once was, said Manuel Paster, professor of sociology and American studies at USC. California's immigrant population — including those without authorization — increased by 5% (about 500,000) from 2010 to 2023, compared to 14% (1.27 million) from 2000 to 2010, and by 37% (2.4 million) rise in the 1990s, according to the Public Policy Institute of California. Between 2019 and 2022, the population of undocumented immigrants in most states across the nation steadily climbed. California's however, decreased, according to the Pew Research Center. These days, most new immigrants are going to Florida, Texas and the South rather than high-cost California, Pastor said. "Los Angeles, more than 70% of our undocumented immigrants have been in the country for longer than a decade," he said. "They're more likely to be long established employees, parents, parts of faith institutions." Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Fact-checking Trump's false accusations of undocumented immigrants and voting fraud in Los Angeles
After nearly a week of protests in Los Angeles against recent federal immigration enforcement sweeps in the city, President Trump doubled down on his administration's efforts to detain and deport immigrants without documentation, claiming they are a key voting bloc in Democratic cities. In a Truth Social post on Sunday, Trump said Los Angeles and 'other such cities, are the core of the Democrat Power Center, where they use illegal aliens to expand their voter base, cheat in elections, and grow the welfare state, robbing good paying jobs and benefits from hardworking American citizens.' But according to Los Angeles County election officials, that's simply not true. 'That claim is false and unsupported, and only serves to create unsubstantiated concern and confusion about the electoral process,' the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder's office said in a statement. In reality, the county has safeguards in place to ensure only eligible voters cast ballots and that all votes are accurately counted, said Mike Sanchez, spokesperson for the county's Registrar-Recorder's office. In the state of California there are five requirements a person must meet to register to vote, according to the California Secretary of State. To register an individual must be: When a person meets the eligibility criteria, they can register to vote which includes attesting under penalty of perjury that they meet all eligibility requirements, including being a U.S. citizen and a resident of California, said Sanchez. 'This sworn statement is a legal declaration and serves as the foundation of the voter registration process,' Sanchez said. Voting as a noncitizen is a felony that can lead to a year in jail or deportation, said Hasen. Though there are some cities in the United States where noncitizens can participate in local elections, for example in communities in Vermont and Maryland, participation is limited to voting in school board or city council elections. In California, San Francisco is the only city where noncitizens can vote and it is limited to the school board. Once a voter registers, their personal information is verified through the State Voter Registration database, which is done by cross-checking state Department of Motor Vehicle records or the last four digits of the person's Social Security number, Sanchez said. When the verification process is complete, a voter does not have to show their identification when voting in person. If verification has not occurred, the voter must show identification the first time they vote. Acceptable forms of identification include a driver's license, state-issued I.D or passport; the California Secretary of State has a complete online list of what identifying documents to take to the polling place. Once polling places open for voters within the county, the voter must sign a roster in the presence of election workers, who attest to their identity and eligibility. 'Elections officials also conduct regular voter roll maintenance, checking against several data points including death records from the California Department of Public Health, Social Security Administration, Department of Motor Vehicles, and the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation,' the California Secretary of State told The Times in a statement. For vote-by-mail ballots, the signature on the return envelope is compared to the one on file in the voter registration record, Sanchez said. If the signature does not match or is missing, the voter is contacted and given a chance to correct it. 'Only verified ballots are accepted and counted,' he said. The claim that immigrants lacking documentation vote in large numbers — and for Democrats — has been repeated for years. It has seeds in the once-fringe racist conspiracy theory called the 'great replacement.' According to a poll by the Associated Press and and NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, 1 in 3 Americans now believe 'an effort is underway to replace U.S.-born Americans with immigrants for electoral gains.' The theory has gained momentum under Trump. In 2016, Trump won the Electoral College and the presidency, but not the popular vote. That went to Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, who received about 2.9 million more votes. Trump then claimed, without evidence, that he would have won the popular vote if 3 to 5 million immigrants living in the country illegally hadn't voted. 'About 3 million votes was the margin by which he lost the popular vote which is why I think he chose that 3 million number to try to explain away his popular vote loss,' Hasen said. After losing his reelection bid in 2020 to Joe Biden, when voting by mail was a focus, Trump refocused on immigrants lacking authorization in the 2024 campaign and was ultimately voted back into the White House. 'In 2024, when I think Trump and the Republicans concluded that the attacks on absentee ballots were actually hurting them because people don't want to show up in person to vote, the shift went back to immigration,' Hasen said. Voter fraud claims echo whomever is trying to dictate the political narrative, according to Hasen. Researchers have found, repeatedly through decades of investigation, that fraud conducted by voters at the polls is virtually nonexistent and does not happen 'on a scale even close to that necessary to 'rig' an election, according to the Brennan Center for Justice. Many instances of reported fraud were due to clerical errors or human errors. 'I think one of the things we've seen is people on the losing end of elections tend to be more likely to believe that there's cheating,' Hasen said. 'But Donald Trump has really supercharged things to the point where we're way beyond what we normally see in terms of partisan divisions.' But Trump is not alone in fueling that theory recently. Last year as he campaigned for Trump, billionaire Elon Musk repeated those claims on his social media platform, X. 'If the Democratic party gains enough voters to win an election by importing them and giving them free stuff, then they will do so,' he posted in September. Yes, but likely not at the rate it once was, said Manuel Paster, professor of sociology and American studies at USC. California's immigrant population — including those without authorization — increased by 5% (about 500,000) from 2010 to 2023, compared to 14% (1.27 million) from 2000 to 2010, and by 37% (2.4 million) rise in the 1990s, according to the Public Policy Institute of California. Between 2019 and 2022, the population of undocumented immigrants in most states across the nation steadily climbed. California's however, decreased, according to the Pew Research Center. These days, most new immigrants are going to Florida, Texas and the South rather than high-cost California, Pastor said. 'Los Angeles, more than 70% of our undocumented immigrants have been in the country for longer than a decade,' he said. 'They're more likely to be long established employees, parents, parts of faith institutions.'
San Francisco Chronicle
3 days ago
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
Fiery Padilla calls Trump's tactics ‘a threat to everyone in every state'
After his high profile detainment and handcuffing at a news conference in Los Angeles, Sen. Alex Padilla warned Tuesday that President Donald Trump's actions in California are a signal of what he will do to other states. In an emotional speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate, Padilla decried Trump's decision to deploy National Guard troops and active-duty marines to Los Angeles in defiance of Gov. Gavin Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass. 'What's happening is not just a threat to California, it is a threat to everyone in every state,' Padilla said. 'California is just a test case for the rest of the country.' Padilla alluded to a recent social media post by Trump that threatened to expand immigration raids in Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York, which Trump described as 'the core of the Democrat Power Center.' Trump has also threatened to revoke massive amounts of federal funding from the Golden State over its liberal policies. Federal agents grabbed Padilla after he tried to call out a question while Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was giving a news briefing in Los Angeles on Thursday. He was pushed out of the room, forced to the ground and handcuffed in an adjacent hallway, according to videos reviewed by the Chronicle that drew widespread outrage from Democrats. In his Senate address, Padilla's voice shook as he described the fear he felt as agents pushed him to the ground. He said he wondered where they would take him, what his wife and children would think, and what effect the incident would have on the already volatile situation in Los Angeles. The city has been the site of massive protests against the Trump administration's aggressive immigration raids and the military deployment. Padilla echoed the argument he and other Democrats have been advancing for more than a week — that Trump deployed the troops to provoke, not to keep the peace, as his administration has argued. The senior senator from California argued, as he has before, that the deployment was a tactic by the president to distract from news that casts the president in a negative light, including Trump's public feud with billionaire benefactor Elon Musk, the steep health care cuts in his budget bill and repeated losses in federal court. Republicans have criticized Padilla for interrupting the news conference, calling it a stunt. Noem criticized him later that day in an interview with Fox News, saying he 'acted completely inappropriately.' White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said he had 'recklessly lunged toward the podium' where Noem was speaking. Videos of the incident do not show Padilla lunging. Padilla was released shortly after he was handcuffed when longtime Trump aide Corey Lewandowski ran down the hall and told FBI agents to release the senator. That weekend, tens of thousands of people protested peacefully in the city as part of nationwide 'No Kings' protests against Trump. The raucous protests led at times to confrontations between protesters and local law enforcement in downtown Los Angeles, where police fired crowd control munitions like rubber bullets and flash-bangs at protesters. Padilla urged people to continue speaking out against Trump and protesting peacefully. 'Last week, for many, it was a warning shot. But I pray that it also serves as a wake-up call,' Padilla said of Trump's deployment. 'If this administration is this afraid of just one senator with a question, colleagues, imagine what the voices of tens of millions of Americans peacefully protesting can do.'
