Trump’s deportations put California’s immigrant labor force at risk
California rely on immigrant workers and entrepreneurs, from citrus farms in the Central Valley to the construction site where houses and businesses are rebuilt after the destructive fires in Pacific Palisades.
As the Trump administration continues to increase immigration sanctions, according to new research, the key to the economy of $ 4 trillion of sectors, such as agriculture, construction and hospitality of sectors, may be among the most difficult ones due to the loss of California’s immigrant labor force.
There are billions of dollars with fuel, large and small works throughout the state, which is an independent economy. fourth big The United States in the world after China and Germany.
Approximately one -fifth of 10.6 million immigrants of the state, without document, According to a June research Partizan Gulf Region Economic Institute and California University, Merced.
If it will be combined with the termination of temporary protected status for thousands of immigrants and more strict border policies, Joint work It is estimated that California will lose $ 278 billion from the gross domestic product.
Bay Area Economic Institute Research Director Abby Raisz said it is necessary to support the state economy, given the falling birth rates of migrant workers and a aging population.
Raisz told CNBC, “These are workers who keep our economy. They keep businesses open.” He said.
Researchers and defenders are one of the most prominent places in areas where food is grown and harvested.
According to the Mr. Area Council report, agriculture, a $ 49 billion industry for the state, has 63% of the highest migrant and undocumented immigrant workers in California, and 24% of farm workers have undocumented concentration.
Joe Garcia, CEO of the Jaguar Workers Convention CEO, who connects the President of the Farm Worker of California Farm Worker and the farm workers to the breeders, said, “We wouldn’t have any food without them.”
“Lettuce, strawberry, all the wine, fruit juices we drink on a daily basis-a farm worker chosen, packages, everything before the harvest, the whole year, they do the work that puts food on the table all year.” He said.
Garcia added that automation is not an option for most of these positions, and that American -born workers are often not interested in undertaking these tasks with tiring, low -paid and outdoor.
The Trump administration insists that the internal labor market can withstand the shortage of immigrant labor and says its focus is to create business for US citizens.
“In response to an investigation on the potential impact of CNBC’s mass deportation on CNBC on California and key industries, a White House spokesman Abigail Jackson said in response to an investigation, neither one out of one of the ten young adults in the United States or a kind of vocational training.”
He said: “There is no shortage of American minds and hands to enlarge our labor force, and President Trump’s agenda for creating a business for American workers represents the commitment of this administration to benefit from this unused potential while fulfilling our duty of implementing our laws of immigration.”
Ice effects
In the city center of Los Angeles, businesses felt the waves of impact due to high -profile ice raids, protests and national guard deployment, and the owners and defenders, the Los Angeles city center is not safe to the public, the issue of perceiving the issue worse.
The independent hospitality coalition, representing 900 local businesses and workers in the Los Angeles region, said raids have received fear for the immigrant labor force and created a challenging atmosphere for businesses that have already faced a few years uphill wars.
“Covid was an international emergency that we all deal with. Here, especially in Los Angeles, with the last Palisades and Altadena fires … Now we are dealing with immigration. He said.
Courtney Kaplan has three Los Angeles restaurants, including Camelia in the Arts area in the city center. Although it was not close to the places where protests or national guard distributions took place, it declined 70 percent in sales in June, although not close to the places where the distribution of national guards took place.
The staff continues to come to work, but because it is based on imported wines and love, the uncertainty about both immigration and trade policy focuses on it. Openable’s data has decreased in food reservations for all Los Angeles. From June 7 to 21 fell by 3%.
“The biggest challenge for us was the uncertainty of every day as well as the decrease in income and work in July.
“We are still in the first days of these changes in immigration policy, so it’s hard to predict what will happen. Maybe for us, the situation for us will change with the comfort levels of our team members.”
Shortage of workers
Sectors such as construction and farming are looking at the shortages of workers before any change in immigration policy. According to the Gulf Region Council report, more than sixty percent of construction workers in California are immigrants and one quarter of one -quarter is undocumented.
“These production industries have deep skill scarcity, construction, production, production, because we have not created culturally enough of these workers.” He said.
He said: “Over time, we have migrated to cope with it. Other cultures, other countries have different characteristics of cultures. Many people there are willing to be talented and wanting to be talented and we import this ability to improve our structure.”
He told CNBC that the contractors had largely entered two camps. Some express confidence and support to Trump, believing that the president’s strategy will promote domestic production, investment and recruitment. As costs and uncertainty increases, others are pessimistic.
Regardless of the perspectives of the contractors, the nature of the Basu, the nature of the California economy and the long -standing housing famine means that the state needs continuous construction workers.
“In the middle of transformation even in difficult economic times,” he said.
