Deportation is the legal process by which a noncitizen is removed from the jurisdiction of a state. The term is derived from the Latin word for expulsion (deportere). Deportation involves four steps: (1) identifying and locating individuals subject to removal; (2) placing those individuals through a legal process to determine if they are eligible for relief; (3) seeking, obtaining and carrying out an order of removal; and (4) repatriating individuals to their country of origin or to third countries. Each of these steps carries significant costs and can have broad implications for both the deported and the communities to which they return (Drotbohm and Hasselberg 2015).
The Trump administration is using a potent mix of carrots and sticks to push individuals to self-deport, but it remains unclear whether it will entice many people to depart on their own. For example, the threat of high-profile arrests from ICE agents at workplaces and homes, as well as the loss of public benefits such as health insurance, may be enough to discourage some from leaving. The poor conditions in home countries and the risk of losing family members, as well as the inability to send remittances, are also likely to keep some individuals from making the decision to leave.
Ultimately, the most effective way to lower immigration enforcement costs is to increase the number of individuals with lawful status in the United States, either through new legal pathways or the restoration of previous protections. However, achieving this will require congressional action and substantial resources.
In the meantime, the Trump administration is pursuing an ambitious policy to achieve its target of 1 million deportations by encouraging individuals to self-deport. While this effort is unprecedented in U.S. history, it’s also a tacit acknowledgment that the Trump administration can’t reach its deportation goals through immigration enforcement alone.
Mass deportations would impose a significant financial burden on the federal government and could create new vulnerabilities for people in the United States who have lawful status, including naturalized U.S. citizens. They would live under the shadow of weaponized enforcement, and their children might worry that they too could be targets. In addition, a continuous presence of deportation could contribute to violence by fostering vigilantism and hate crimes.
A large majority of Americans favor deporting those who commit violent crimes and those with a lengthy record of criminal offenses, but far fewer support removing those with no criminal convictions or with family ties in the United States. This is partly because most undocumented immigrants have not committed serious criminal acts, but more importantly because they are a part of American communities, which value their contributions and the values they hold. To reduce the cost of deportations, Congress needs to pass a comprehensive legislative solution and allocate adequate funding. Otherwise, the Trump administration’s deportation efforts will prove largely ineffective. Unless the nation addresses these challenges, the cost of deporting 13.3 million individuals will be prohibitive for years to come.