California's lead as a hub for unauthorized immigrants shrinks
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California is among the six states where the majority of the nation's record 14 million unauthorized immigrants live, though more are moving to other states, a recent Pew study finds.
Why it matters: The U.S. saw a historic rise in unauthorized immigrants during the first two years of President Biden's term — growth that helped fuel President Trump's return to power and coincided with increasing support for mass deportations.
By the numbers: California led the nation with 2.3 million unauthorized immigrants in 2023, followed by Texas with 2.1 million — only a 200,000-person difference, per Pew Research Center estimates released in August.
- That's a dramatic shift from 2017, when California had 1.2 million more than Texas.
- California saw the third-highest growth of the unauthorized immigrant population from 2021-2023, behind Texas and Florida.
State of play: The U.S. unauthorized immigrant population is far less concentrated than in the past, growing in 32 states from 2021 to 2023, Pew found.
- The shifts happened as worker shortages and industry growth continue across sectors including construction, agriculture and oil and gas.
- The overall population rise was sparked by migration from countries other than Mexico, and driven by two consecutive years of record growth, the Pew analysis said.
The intrigue: Early data show that the number of unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. continued to rise in 2024, but dropped earlier this year as the second Trump administration began immigration raids and ended many protections, Pew said.
Between the lines: ICE officers have made about four times as many daily arrests in San Diego and Imperial counties under Trump, compared to under Biden, inewssource reported.
- Most of those immigrants didn't have a criminal record.
- That data only accounts for civil violations, but criminal immigration-related charges have also spiked.
Zoom in: While illegal border crossings have dropped to their lowest point in decades, federal criminal prosecutions of undocumented people crossing in the San Diego and Imperial Valley region have surged, The Union-Tribune reported.
- Compared to Trump's first term, there are fewer people being apprehended at the border, but a higher proportion of them are being charged with crimes, per the U-T's analysis.
What we're watching: Elected officials in cities around San Diego County are pursuing coordinated ordinances to limit ICE enforcement locally.
- The plan, announced last week, aims to prohibit arrests on property funded by the city, and prevent police from sharing sensitive information about residents.