Approximately one million immigrants have departed from the American workforce during Trump's presidency

In the heart of California's Central Valley, Lidia, a farmworker, lives with a constant fear that has haunted her for over two decades. More than 23 years after illegally crossing the US-Mexico border as a teenager, Lidia, now a mother of three school-age children born in the United States, fears deportation.

The Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, California, area has seen the largest loss of 7200 construction jobs, a trend that is not unique to this region. Across the nation, the US President Donald Trump's stepped-up immigration policies are impacting the labor force significantly. More than 1.2 million immigrants have disappeared from the labor force from January through the end of July.

Immigrants make up almost 20% of the US workforce, with about 30% of all construction workers and 45% of workers in farming, fishing, and forestry being immigrants. The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) represents about 2 million workers in health care, the public sector, and property services, and about half of long-term care workers who are members of SEIU 2015 in California are immigrants.

Lidia's anxiety about potential attention from US Immigration Control and Enforcement (ICE) is not unfounded. ICE has been targeting construction sites and mechanic and repair shops, according to Rodriguez. Construction sites in and around McAllen are experiencing a significant decline in activity. The number of construction jobs has decreased in about half of US metropolitan areas, with the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale area losing 6200 jobs.

Ken Simonson, the chief economist of the Associated General Contractors of America, attributes the decline in construction employment to a variety of reasons, including tougher immigration enforcement. This has left many industries, such as construction and farming, struggling to find enough workers to meet demand.

Lidia's fear of losing her life in the United States if deported is shared by many immigrants. As the nation has had the first decline in the overall immigrant population after the number of people in the US illegally reached an all-time high of 14 million in 2023, the impact of these policies on families like Lidia's cannot be understated.

The future remains uncertain for Lidia and many others in her situation. As the debate on immigration continues, it is essential to consider the human stories behind the statistics. The fate of individuals like Lidia, who have built their lives in the United States, hangs in the balance.