The Trump administration’s repeated attacks on California’s immigrant communities over the past year resulted in thousands of deportations and stoked fears of reprisal among those living in the state without authorization, including families afraid for their children. It’s still unclear how many immigrants ultimately will have left the state, either under threat or of their own volition.
That is a humanitarian nightmare, a Cal Lutheran University professor says. But there is another aspect to consider, he adds: California’s economy simply cannot survive any significant loss to its undocumented worker population.
