President Trump has vowed to deport millions of people, and although it’s still unclear exactly who and how many would be affected, communities across the country with large numbers of unauthorized immigrants are bracing for impact.
Massachusetts is home to several of those communities, with an estimated 325,000 unauthorized immigrants statewide, according to the Pew Research Center. That’s about 5 percent of the state’s total population. These figures include those who were granted temporary protection.
That tally was the highest among New England states. Connecticut had the second highest number, at about 150,000.
In 2022, about 9 percent of children in K-12 schools in Massachusetts had at least one unauthorized immigrant parent, according to the Pew Research study, which is based on an analysis using census data and government surveys. In comparison, New Hampshire had just 2 percent.
More than 46,000 people in New England have Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, which means the federal government has determined that it is unsafe for them to go back to their home countries. Trump has said he would scale back this program.
Many of those with Temporary Protected Status, who are permitted to work, are from Haiti.
The vast majority of these 46,000 people — more than 35,000 — were in Massachusetts, according to 2024 data from the Congressional Research Service.
An additional 4,410 immigrants in Massachusetts were a part of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, which grants temporary residency rights to young adults brought to the US as children, data from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services show. DACA offers two-year work permits for recipients but not a pathway to citizenship.
The program has faced a slew of legal threats over the years, including from Trump, who, in his last presidency, sought to shut it down, only to be thwarted by the US Supreme Court.
He has not recently targeted the program, but DACA faced yet another legal hurdle last week when a federal appeals court ruled it unlawful. Though the ruling was limited to Texas, it foreshadows a potential battle in the nation’s highest court.
Scooty Nickerson can be reached at scooty.nickerson@globe.com.