The latest news released Tuesday from the headcount people delivers insight and possible preview of what’s ahead on America’s foreign-born population and its children — particularly significant for California, where more than one-quarter of the population was born outside the United States. According to the Census, 27% of Californians are foreign-born.
Problem is that as residents leave for more attractive states, California has leaned on foreign immigrants–legal and illegal–to inflate our population numbers. The numbers are stark: The state’s net international migration plunged from 312,761 in 2024 to 109,278 in 2025 — the largest numerical decline of any state. California’s estimated population of 39.36 million in 2025 remains slightly below its 2020 population base. Meanwhile, Texas has grown by roughly 2.6 million people and Florida by about 1.9 million since 2020.
Electeds know that illegal immigrants get counted in the census, so immigration enforcement has a potential congressional-representation consequence for California. If enforcement substantially reduces California’s population before the 2030 Census, that could further weaken the state’s position in the competition for 435 House seats. Is it any wonder that the divisiveness and cost to taxpayers is embraced by Dems in power as a means to stay in power?
“If recent trends continue, California could lose as many as 4 of its 52 seats in the 2030 congressional apportionment,” Public Policy Institute of California, California’s Population.
AI helped prepare this story
