While many unauthorized immigrants in the United States have criminal records, most of them do not pose a public safety threat. Historically, the priority for deportation has been placed on removing individuals who have been convicted of serious crimes. But expanding this priority to include all unauthorized immigrants would be enormously expensive and likely result in legal challenges, broad public opposition, and major disruptions in communities.
If carried out on a massive scale, mass deportation would require massively ramped-up immigration enforcement activities and the deployment of National Guard troops to assist in rounding up individuals and processing them for removal. This would divert resources away from domestic law enforcement and national security activities, such as disaster response and military readiness. It would also require substantial financial investment in a new system for identifying, screening, and relocating individuals and for maintaining detention centers that would need to remain operational for over a decade.
In addition, local law enforcement would be compelled to participate in these operations and shift away from their traditional priorities of crime prevention and community support to identify, arrest, and process people for deportation, even if those individuals do not pose a public safety threat or have been convicted of crimes. This would disrupt communities and lead to racial profiling. And it would force millions of mixed-status households to split, uprooting their families and destroying years of built-up stability.
The economic costs of deportation are significant, as well. Many unauthorized workers perform essential jobs that create demand for goods and services. If they were removed from the economy, this would create labor shortages in important sectors of the economy and reduce economic output. This, in turn, would lead to lower tax revenues and less money to spend on goods and services by U.S. citizens and consumers.
Furthermore, if the government were to enforce this policy in full, it would result in huge losses for the country. The direct cost to the federal government in lost taxes, fees, and other revenue would be billions of dollars. The indirect cost to the nation’s economy would be much larger, potentially amounting to trillions of dollars in lost GDP over a decade or more.
Despite what the administration claims, it is not possible to deport 13.3 million people in one operation. In fact, it will take years and billions of dollars to implement such an initiative. And it will be very disruptive to communities, creating an atmosphere of fear and instability that could lead to social unrest. It will also be costly to the economy, reducing tax revenues and GDP while increasing consumer prices. Ultimately, deporting all unauthorized immigrants is not feasible and would have devastating consequences for the country. It is time to move beyond this dangerously flawed strategy.