Overview

• The Bay Area Council Economic Institute finds that expelling 2.3 million undocumented workers could shrink California’s economy by $278 billion through lost output at every level
• Undocumented workers make up 8% of the state’s workforce, generate nearly 5% of its GDP and pay over $23 billion in annual state, local and federal taxes
• Agriculture and construction would contract sharply as undocumented laborers comprise about one-third of farm workers and a quarter of construction crews, triggering 14% and 16% drops in those sectors’ GDP
• Undocumented immigrants own roughly 11% of California’s small businesses and two-thirds have lived in the state for more than a decade, underscoring their deep integration
• Analysts warn that mass deportations could exacerbate labor shortages, delay housing projects, drive up costs and knock California from the world’s fourth-largest economy to seventh place