Report reveals ‘critical’ economic impact of ICE raids in CA

(KRON) — The Bay Area Council has released a new study on the economic impact of ICE raids in California, and the number is in the billions. The arrests of immigrants could impact the state’s GDP by up to $275 billion.

The Bay Area Council decided to dive deeper into numbers six months ago when President Trump was still on the campaign trail, promising mass deportations. Undocumented residents make up about 8 percent of California’s workforce.

This report, released Tuesday by the Bay Area Institute, shows that ICE raids will negatively impact several industries.

Bay Area Council Economic Institute Research Director Abby Raisz explained the two that could be hardest hit.

“This workforce makes up 33 percent of the state’s farm workers and 26 percent of its construction laborers, and these are jobs that are critical to California’s economy,” Raisz said.

She says that undocumented workers in California generate more than $23 billion in tax revenue. The construction industry has been dealing with setbacks for years, and George Carrillo with the Hispanic Construction Council says the Trump administration isn’t helping.

“We have a workforce shortage of 500 thousand people, all-time low unemployment rates. It’s an aging workforce, and we don’t have a pipeline of skilled workers to enter the industry right now,” Carrillo said.

Carrillo says he understands the arrests of dangerous criminals but can’t understand why immigrants with valid work visas are being targeted by ICE.

“The whip lash effect is affecting everybody. One day you say this, and the next day you say it changes. The next day it’s targeting only sanctuary cities, and the next day it’s back on,” Carrillo said.

President Trump has ordered ICE to increase daily arrests to 3,000 per day, allowing raids to resume at hotels, restaurants and farms after a brief pause. Roberto Hernandez is an advisor for the Mission Merchants Association in San Francisco.

He says ICE arrests have been happening at immigration court when people show up for scheduled hearings.

“They called several people that I know of to go in on Saturday and Sunday to their office. That’s like unheard of. I told people, ‘Don’t go, you’re being set up,'” Hernandez said.

The report from the Bay Area Council also found that 11 percent of California’s small businesses are owned by undocumented immigrants.