KPCC: As Trump’s immigration policies roll out, California economic concerns grow more urgent

The Trump administration’s crackdown on immigrants living in the country illegally is increasing worries about possible economic impacts on California.

Speaking at a forum on immigration in downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday, state Sen. Kamala Harris said removing unauthorized immigrants from the work force will be clearly felt.

“This is absolutely an issue of our economy as well as anything else,” she said. “Talk with our farmers. God has given us rain. Crops are growing. Who is going to tend these fields?”

Business leaders say it’s not just the agricultural industry that would feel the pain of stepped up deportations but also sectors like construction and hospitality that employ workers who are often undocumented.

Foreign-born residents in Los Angeles County — those here legally and illegally — contributed more than $232 billion dollars to the county’s GDP in 2014, according to a recent report from the Partnership for a New American Economy, a business advocacy group.

At a Wednesday panel on Latinos and the economy put on by the L.A. County of Economic Development, attendees also expressed concern about the impact of the president’s immigration crackdown.

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