Can The U.S. Economy Survive A Mass Deportation?

According to the latest estimates, approximately 11.7 million undocumented immigrants currently reside in the United States, which amounts to roughly 3.5% of the total U.S. population. The United States has more international migrants than any other country in the world, surpassing the total of the next four countries combined. But in recent years, the United States has not deported more than half a million immigrants with a formal removal order in a single fiscal year. If President Trump follows through on his promise of deporting all undocumented immigrants over his four-year term, the country could see a deportation operation on an unprecedented scale. So how exactly will the mass deportation be carried out? And what impact will it have on the U.S. economy?

Chapters:
1:13 Case against
4:40 Case for
6:35 Logistics and challenges

Produced by: Juhohn Lee
Animation: Christina Locopo, Jason Reginato
Supervising Producer: Jeniece Pettitt
Senior Managing Producer: Shawn Baldwin
Editorial Support: Carlos Waters
Additional Footage: Getty Images

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Can The U.S. Economy Survive A Mass Deportation?

[gregorymilla]

Rich billionaires telling poor people that’s it’s other poor people that are hurting their quality of life and not them

[Gandalf]

food is up 30% and all the people working in food still get paid 9-14/hr

[feedmeeseymore]

The people making 700$ an hour convinced the people that make 25$ an hour, that the problem is the people who make 7.25$ an hour.

[rlbrown]

I love how rich people are telling poor people why they're poor and a college graduate is basically saying that illegal immigrants are doing the jobs that Americans don't want to do.

[dustymcdust]

I was a USDA Federal food inspector. I was in slaughter houses around the country and I never saw an American worker in any of those plants. American supervisors yes, but never a worker. They were from as far away as the Middle East, Africa and China, but mostly from Latin America.

[kenlandon]

This is what happens when you don't teach real history in the schools. Same playbook, same results.

[dylant]

“If we end slavery, cotton prices will skyrocket” same story different century

[fleurdelotusrosecam]

Not only will the economy suffer, those non-criminal, honest, hard-working workers who get deported, many also to be separated from their families… will resent the administration for taking away their life or chances for a better life, in such a cruel manner. Even if they had entered the country illegally, if they were not committing any crimes but contributing to the US economy by working jobs that most Americans won’t take, what harm are they to America. When I lived in California and crossed paths with non-documented workers in my daily life who bagged groceries, cleaned buildings, waited tables, or worked as domestic workers in acquaintances’ homes… not once did I feel threatened or had any bad experience with any of them. They were almost always humble, kind, good-hearted people with smiles on their faces. To me they seemed genuinely grateful to live in America, just trying to create a decent life for themselves and their families.

But even the kindest or humblest of people can be angry and resentful. They will resent this new Trump administration that’s giving no grace to them, calling them criminals, blaming them for what’s happening to the US, when it’s not the immigrants, but people like Trump and his allies that have abused the system of capitalism for decades, essentially only caring about their own kind.
This radical measure by the idiotic president who goes after anyone that he simply doesn’t like with zero amount of respect, isn’t going to make things better. And when you hate on people and show zero compassion, you will get it back eventually. It’ll be bad karma for America, the land built by colonialism, that forebears basically stole from Indigenous peoples. Trump or anyone has no right to kick out people coming in when their ancestors barged in on someone else’s land in the first place, no matter how complicated today’s world has become. This seemingly easy solution by Trump to sweep up the undocumented immigrants, will bite them back.

[daddyjoe]

The problem is not the guy making $5.50 an hour the problem is the guy making hundreds of billions a year. Hello Musk.

[firstlast-oyuk]

Are officials openly admitting to exploiting federal law violations in order to profit from the exploitation of desperate individuals worldwide? Are they confessing that they would rather perpetuate illegal practices than establish legal pathways for accessing affordable labor? By endorsing a system that relies on human smuggling, are they suggesting this benefits the economy while somehow claiming it respects human rights? This is not only hypocritical but deeply shameful. Such actions are a betrayal of ethical governance and an affront to human dignity. Shame on these officials—this behavior is utterly repugnant!

[physalis]

All of the comments saying Americans will do these jobs need a reality check. Alabama removed their migrant workers back in 2013 and it hurt their economy significantly. It was so bad that Alabama had to revoke that law after it had only been in affect for six weeks. If one state's economy nearly got destroyed after six weeks of anti-immigration laws being passed and people being deported, imagine what would happen to this country with such a law on a national scale.

Edit for update a week later: I was right! In California, migrants aren't showing up for work because of the ICE raids and produce is now rotting in the fields. Enjoy the insane prices at the grocery store MAGA! You voted for this!

[Toxikking-mvxt]

Didn't think I could hate my country more after 2020, yet here we are

[Lowwboyyy]

"We need to exploit them for cheap labor"

[zwozoa]

if our economy is dependent on people who aren't documented then there is a problem.

the ppl in my replies debating this stance whilst literally strengthening it is insane lol.

[bonniegaither]

I think for every illegal worker that is deported somebody that’s wearing a MAGA hat needs to go out and replace that job at the same wage.

[crayan]

As a spectator from another country. I am wondering why would the US government not make easier steps for immigrants to be legalized instead of deporting? If these impacts are true. Why not help them so they can help your economy?

[jasonguerra]

People arguing to keep illegal immigrants in the country so companies can pay them less than a livable wage, or even minimum wage is crazy

[HawkSea]

People over 70 don't care. They're on their way out. It's the younger generations that will suffer the most.

[josewebster]

The key magnet for people to migrate illegally is JOBS! If you really want to stop illegal immigration go after the individuals and companies who hire them. Employers should bear the burden of proof that they are hiring people in the United States authorized to work by checking their status with Citizens and Immigration Services. There is NO way around it. Everybody vilifies illegal immigrants, but employers hardly face any consequences! Again, just like in the “war on drugs” you can not just focus on the supply side, you have to reduce the demand.

[ebergarcia]

Good luck getting Americans doing these kinda of jobs when all immigrants are gone 😂😂😂