California’s population shrank in Trump’s first immigration crackdown. It could happen again

IT HASN’T HAPPENED YET, but California is bracing for a demographic and economic hit under President Donald Trump’s multi-pronged effort to limit the entry of people born abroad and deport those already in the U.S.

In fact, during the last Trump administration, California’s population declined in part because immigration to the state slowed down after the White House put up increased obstacles to enter the U.S., according to the state’s chief demographer, though COVID-19 didn’t help. The Newsom administration is worried about history repeating itself enough to cite Trump’s immigration policies as an economic risk in the state budget forecasts.