Immigration Is the Only Hope for States That Helped Trump

Donald Trump's appeal in northern industrial states was an economic message of bringing back growth to stagnant communities. He also won in part with a tough line on immigration. Newly released Census data indicate that when it comes to making policy, he'll have to choose between those agendas.

Much of the blame for the hollowing out of the Midwest has been placed on the decline of manufacturing, but sluggish population growth has played a big role as well. Slower population growth means fewer new households, which means less demand for housing, restaurants, teachers, health-care workers and all other economic activity. While Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin account for 12.4 percent of the U.S. population, in 2016 they accounted for just 1 percent of the country's population growth. Pennsylvania's population actually shrank by over 7,000 people.