Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump unveiled over the weekend his genius proposal to deal with the 11 million people who live in the U.S. undocumented: deport them all!
As much as I know there are many of you out there who’d give up a vital organ for this to come true (let’s have a contest of who posts the most offensive comment and/or finds an interesting way to question my immigration status, purely based on my foreign-sounding name, yes?), it would result in a major shit storm, including the loss of billions of dollars, according to an analysis by the Center for American Progress.
Here’s a summary of it, but you should check out the rest on the center’s website:
As last week’s Gallup poll reaffirmed, a small minority of Americans—only 19 percent—believe that unauthorized immigrants should be deported from the United States. In contrast, the vast majority of Americans want sensible solutions to immigration policy, with 65 percent believing that unauthorized immigrants should be allowed to get legal status and a pathway to citizenship.
In analysis released today by the Center for American Progress, Associate Director for Immigration Policy Philip Wolgin discusses the cost of a mass deportation strategy, with research showing that the average cost per person would be $10,070, for a total of $114 billion to remove 11.3 million people.
The figure includes the high costs required to find each and every unauthorized individual, something that would be—aside from the high costs—a logistical nightmare. CAP’s $114 billion estimate also includes the cost to detain these individuals while they wait for removal, to process them through the already overburdened immigration courts, and to transport them abroad.
The Washington Post’s Editorial Board also weighed in on Trump’s plan, saying it would “wreak havoc” in the labor force and, of course, the economy. Also, it’s not great that he wants to “keep families together” by deporting the undocumented parent or parents, and shipping their U.S. citizen children out of the country, as well.
Here’s a portion of the write-up:
As a quick fix for unemployment, Mr. Trump’s plan is also a non-starter. The share of the labor force occupied by illegal immigrants in California, Nevada, Texas and New Jersey is much greater than the jobless rate in each of those states. Even if every unemployed American in those states took an undocumented worker’s job — wildly unlikely, given that most Americans are unwilling to do the dirty jobs filled by many immigrants — it would still leave hundreds of thousands jobs unfilled.
Despite his nativist rhetoric, Mr. Trump may grasp the staggering economic and social havoc that mass deportation would wreak. Hence his offhand comment, on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” that he’d “bring them back rapidly, the good ones.”
According to the Migration Policy Institute, about 87 percent of the United States’ undocumented immigrants — some 10 million people — have no serious criminal record. If those turn out to qualify as Mr. Trump’s “good ones,” what purpose would be served by deporting them only to “bring them back rapidly”?
What Mr. Trump proposes is nothing less than manufacturing a humanitarian upheaval on a scale rivaling the refugee crisis in Syria. Notwithstanding his cavalier rhetoric, there’s no evidence Americans would tolerate such a mass uprooting of people who have planted deep roots in this nation.
This article appears in Aug 13-19, 2015.
…”there’s no evidence Americans would tolerate such a mass uprooting of people who have planted deep roots in this nation. “
I don’t know, he is leading in the polls. It would still be cheaper than housing, feeding and caring for those held as illegal entrants. At least start there.
Right. Like they’re not costing us billions already in entitlements, violent crime and prison stays? The more I read open borders advocates opposing Trump and why, the more I support him. Oh, and how would Democrats react if Clinton haters started pushing effigy pinatas for people to beat with sticks?
Sounds good to me, take it from the EPA.
If Americans were invading Canada would they tolerate it?
“given that most Americans are unwilling to do the dirty jobs filled by many immigrants”
Please, not again with this lie. 73% of janitors are native born. How does that happen? The only reason Americans don’t take those jobs are because illegal (and legal) immigrants take them at wages so low those Americans can do better doing something else.
In upstate New York (a very poor area), I’ve talked to people who used to make ends meet between the summer tourist/construction season and Christmas by picking apples in the fall. Now crews of illegals are bussed in to do all of that work and people have to get by one the dole.
Same with people in the construction trades who were pushed out.
The article you’re citing could’ve been written by the US Chamber of Commerce whose goal is to keep wages low by bringing in high numbers of immigrants.
Not that I agree with active mass deportation, but there are ways to lower immigration, including reducing legal immigration, and at least Trump is bringing the subject up. And I’m sick and tired of Chamber of Commerce propaganda that says it’s not possible especially the lie that Americans won’t work.
Americans would have to work at slave wages were they to take jobs reserved for immigrants, and that is the lie that really needs to be exposed in the statement about dirty jobs filled by immigrants. Meanwhile, I am beginning to think that Trump is great! He is taking on the single largest group of voters in the country with his offensive comments about immigrants and women. If only he can get around to dissing young people he will have a perfect “chingadazo” (actually “chinazo”, a card game) and might end up to be the Dems’ best friend. As we found out last time, nothing like a Republican mud-wrestling fest to stregnthen a Democratic candidate.
Once again I invite Ms. Taracena to go on line, read the immigration laws of Mexico and report to us what she learned. Not that it will happen. What will happen is a bunch of numb-nuts will dislike this who also don’t know spit about Mexico’s laws. Just watch.
TOLD YA !!! Too easy. Way too easy.
Great point, Johnny. To answer your question, they would be screaming their usual ” war on women” crap.
It’s unfair to those waiting legally to live/work in the US to reward others who cheat the system and break the law to receive the same benefit. I have great friends from Mexico and Brazil who spent years and many thousands of dollars to enter legally and obtain citizenship. Also, I believe any criminal record should be considered an instant exclusion to any proposed pathway-to-citizenship. And I would suspect many would view $114 billion as a pretty reasonable sum for such a seemingly-momentous task, considering the Iraq War reportedly cost $80 billion per month.
I don’t care if it costs trillions or 6 gorillian dollares.
I keep hearing exaggerated excuses to legitimize this invasion.
Enforce the law, build the wall.
A nation without borders is not a nation.
America first.
Can’t Stump the Trump.