A crackdown on immigration is leading to a sharp drop in U.S. population growth

The U.S. population growth slowed sharply last year due to a steep drop in immigration.

An annual estimate from the Census Bureau Tuesday shows the nation’s population grew by just 1.8 million people during the 12 months ending last June. That’s about half the growth rate of the previous year.

A major factor behind that slowing growth was the foreign-born population, which grew by 1.3 million during the year, a 52% smaller increase than the previous 12 months. That drop results from fewer people entering the country through legal channels as well as the voluntary or forced departure of some living in the country illegally.

Census forecasters say if current trends continue, net immigration could drop by another million people in the current year.

The slowdown in population growth has major implications for the U.S. economy. Immigrants have accounted for much of the growth in the workforce in recent years. Immigrants also boost demand. The Trump administration has suggested that widespread deportations have helped take pressure of rents in communities with a large concentration of foreign-born families.

Meanwhile, growth in the native-born population was fairly stable last year, but has declined sharply from previous decades. Births outnumbered deaths by only about half a million in the 12 months ending in June. That’s less than half the natural increase in years before the pandemic.

The U.S. population as of last July is estimated at 341.8 million. The slowdown in population growth was seen throughout the country.