President-elect Trump's mass deportation plan threatens to gut the U.S. economy, reduce growth and the workforce, and accelerate inflation, according to a report. report Democratic members of the Congressional Joint Economic Committee (JEC) made the announcement on Thursday.
The report, which obtained data from the Peterson Institute for International Economics, found that deporting 8.3 million illegal immigrants would reduce GDP by 7.4 percent and employment by 7 percent by 2028, reducing President Trump's second term. It is highly likely that the overall growth rate will drop to zero.
President Trump has proposed deporting all illegal aliens in the United States (currently estimated at 11 million people) and millions more currently protected in humanitarian programs such as TPS. If the program is discontinued, they could become functionally illegal immigrants.
According to estimates by the American Immigration Council (AIC), which cited the JEC report, deporting all illegal immigrants by 1 million per year would be in line with Vice President-elect J.D. Vance's “start with 1 million'' proposal. Accordingly, GDP will decline by 4.2% to 6.8%. The report's authors noted that the U.S. economy contracted by 4.3% during the Great Recession.
“President Trump's plan to deport millions of immigrants does nothing to address the core problems driving our nation's broken immigration system. Instead, it will raise food prices and create jobs. His immigration policies are reckless and will cause irreparable damage to our economy.'' said.
The AIC estimates that, excluding the economic impact of mass deportations, President Trump's plan would cost more than $88 billion, about four times NASA's budget.
And the JEC report argues that mass deportations will reduce the U.S. customer base, eliminate a population that is on average more entrepreneurial, and eviscerate the workforce that is uniquely qualified to work in certain fields. It cites multiple studies that say that the move is likely to reduce employment for U.S.-born workers. industry.
According to the report, undocumented workers make up 4.4% to 5.4% of the total workforce, and industries such as construction, agriculture, healthcare and hospitality rely on them.
Although many of these jobs are classified as unskilled labor, they require specialized training and physical strength that are not readily available in America's existing workforce.
Livestock farmers, for example, have long fought to expand visa procedures to preserve the existing undocumented workforce.
“Labor shortages caused by mass deportations will raise costs for all Americans. With unemployment nearing historic lows, employers in sectors such as agriculture and construction will reduce production; There will be shortages and price increases,” the JEC report said.
Economists at the Peterson Institute for International Economics found that deporting 1.3 million immigrants would cause prices to rise 1.5% by 2028, and deporting 8.3 million immigrants would cause prices to rise 9.1%. Furthermore, illegal immigrants are workers. If the demand for certain goods and services slows down enough, the demand for workers in those sectors will also slow down, and some will. of companies may be forced to lay off employees.
But as Kristen Welker explained on NBC's “Meet the Press” on Sunday, President Trump's rationale for mass deportations is that illegal immigrants are “causing us tremendous harm.” is.
A JEC report found that foreign-born people pay, on average, $1,300 more per year in taxes than they receive from federal, state, and local governments, and $237,000 more in taxes over their lifetimes than they receive from the Brookings Institution. cites the report and disputes its logic.
And a New American Economy study cited by JEC Democrats found that between 2012 and 2018, the average immigrant contributed $166 more to the Medicare Trust Fund than they received in return. . During that time, U.S.-born residents paid an average of $51 to the fund.
Working undocumented immigrants pay into Medicare and Social Security but are not eligible to withdraw benefits, contributing to the program's immigration surplus.
Mr. Heinrich, who has promoted immigration reform, will be re-elected in November for a third term.
“As the son of immigrants, I know how hard immigrants work, how much they believe in this country, and how much they want to give back. They are the backbone of our economy and our is the driving force behind the growth and prosperity of the world,” Heinrich said.
