Seismic Plunge: US Foreign Population Down Over 2 Million Since Trump Took Office
Between January and july 2025, the United States experienced an unprecedented decline of approximately 2.2 million in its foreign-born population, according to an analysis by the Center for Immigration Studies using Current Population Survey data.This decrease was entirely among non-citizens, while the number of naturalized U.S. citizens actually increased slightly. The decline notably included a significant drop in non-citizens from Latin America who arrived after 1980, a group that overlaps substantially with the illegal immigrant population. The center estimates that around 1.6 million illegal immigrants left during this period, leaving about 14.2 million still in the country. This reversal follows a previous increase in the illegal immigrant population from 2021 to early 2025.The analysis suggests that this reduction could economically benefit legal immigrants and American workers with less education, possibly raising wages by reducing competition from illegal workers. Young American men, in particular, might benefit from improved labor market conditions. The decline coincides with stronger immigration enforcement, including border restrictions and deportations under the Trump administration. The Center for Immigration Studies urges policymakers to consider these positive effects when addressing pressures from employers to reverse the trend.
There was a massive and unprecedented decline in the foreign-born population in the United States between January and July of this year, with some 2.2 million fewer immigrants present in the country.
According to a Tuesday analysis of Current Population Survey data from the Center for Immigration Studies, the total “foreign-born population of all ages, both in and out of the labor force” decreased by an “unprecedented” 2.2 million during the first seven months of the year.
The falloff in the “total foreign-born” population was entirely comprised of non-citizens, as the number of naturalized U.S. citizens has “actually increased some since January,” per the analysis.
The foreign-born population includes both legal and illegal immigrants.
Beyond the decline of 2.2 million foreign-born people, the Center for Immigration Studies found declines in “the number of non-citizens from Latin America who arrived in the United States in 1980 or later.”
“The post-1980 Latin American non-citizen population in particular overlaps significantly with the illegal immigrant population and helps to confirm our finding of a large decline in the illegal immigrant population,” the think tank said.
America has seen “an unprecedented 2.2 million decline in the total foreign-born or immigrant population (legal and illegal) between January and July of this year.”
The largest six-month decline within a single year in U.S. history.
We’re taking back our country. pic.twitter.com/5qdFqCJhld
— Senator Eric Schmitt (@SenEricSchmitt) August 12, 2025
With respect to the number of illegal immigrants in the country, the Center for Immigration Studies projected that some 1.6 million have left since January, meaning there are roughly 14.2 million still present.
“This reverses the dramatic increase in the illegal immigrant population we have reported from January 2021 to January 2025,” the analysis continued.
The decline is most likely to economically benefit legal immigrants and American workers with less education, who are often forced to compete with illegal immigrants for jobs.
The wages of legal workers may even increase amid the changes, which point toward a lower supply of illegal immigrant workers who undercut pay rates in the labor market.
According to the Center for Immigration Studies, young American men could especially benefit from the trend.
UNPRECEDENTED SUCCESS: The foreign-born population has SHRUNK by 2.2 million in the first six months of Trump being in office
Huge 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/nSCAIYu2Jh
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) August 12, 2025
“A tighter labor market and higher wages may help to draw back into jobs the near-record number of working-age American men without a college degree not in the labor force,” the analysis said.
“Policymakers will need to consider these positive effects of reducing illegal immigration as they respond to pressure from employers to reverse the decline,” the group recommended.
The decline in the foreign-born population comes as President Donald Trump cracks down on illegal immigration, shuttering the border and conducting deportations of illegal aliens.
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