Gov. Kathy Hochul's administration announced Tuesday that New York state is home to a staggering 470,100 undocumented immigrant workers. The governor is concerned that future crackdowns on illegal immigration could hurt the local economy.
The revelations came as Mr. Hochul announced a massive $252 billion budget proposal, which would require about 15% of the state's total workforce, or about 15% of the state's total workforce, a number that would be used by newly reinstated President Donald Trump to crack down on illegal immigration. This means that nearly one in six employees is an illegal immigrant.
“The potential deportation of illegal immigrants could further exacerbate the state's declining population and labor shortages,” said an economic outlook analysis released as part of the budget plan.
The Center for Immigration Services estimates that 470,100 workers in the Empire State are in the country illegally, a figure cited in Hochul's report.
“Most of them work in occupations such as construction workers, maids/housekeepers, cooks, domestic helpers, personal care workers, cleaners, and delivery drivers,” Hochul said.
“If workers are forced to leave, employment in these industries will be significantly disrupted.”
The analysis noted that 70% of workers in the construction industry are foreign-born.
“A slowdown in the flow of new immigrants could lead to labor shortages and delays in the completion of ongoing construction works, negatively impacting available inventory,” Hochul said.
Trump's team is first planning mass deportations of criminal immigrants, with anticipated U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids evacuating migrants from immigrant shelters in the city.
Hochul's report also said remote work is contributing to the exodus of New Yorkers to cheaper states.
“The high cost of living in the New York City metropolitan area is contributing to the area's population decline,” Hochul said.
“The potential deportation of illegal immigrants could further exacerbate the state's population decline and labor shortage. Long-term population decline remains a significant downside risk to both wages and employment.”
Conversely, New York City and the state could benefit if New York City's population declines are less than expected and immigration enforcement is less severe than expected, the analysis concluded.
