The Real Cost of Trump’s Mass Deportation Plan
By Emily You
Immigrants are “poisoning the blood of our country” and have “bad genes,” declared America’s next President. This is the person people have chosen. These abhorrent words echo discredited eugenics ideologies underpinned by notions of racial superiority. It’s no surprise, then, that Donald Trump plans the largest mass deportation in U.S. history: the removal of 11 million undocumented migrants. But is this viable? What would the consequences be?
Trump promises to deploy law enforcement and military resources to carry out this plan. Yet, experts question whether ICE’s 20,000 agents could realistically track down, arrest, and deport such a vast number of people. Even if he succeeds, the human cost would be devastating. Families would be torn apart, civil liberties trampled, and tensions between communities exacerbated. Trump’s vow to reinstate family separation policies at the border exemplifies the cruelty of his zero-tolerance approach. During his previous presidency, over 5,000 children were forcibly separated from their parents, many enduring squalid detention conditions with no timeline for reunification. Yet he wants more.
The humanitarian impact extends further. Migrants brought to the U.S. as children, shielded by the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, would face deportation from the only home they’ve known. Although Trump’s 2020 attempt to dismantle DACA failed, a Republican-dominated Supreme Court could enable its repeal, putting hundreds of thousands of young people at risk.
The economic implications are equally dire. Mass deportation would cost an estimated $315 billion, requiring extensive federal coordination to detain and transport individuals. Expanded detention facilities would be a further financial drain. Beyond immediate costs, the American Immigration Council warns that removing millions of workers from sectors like construction, hospitality, and agriculture could reduce the GDP by $1.7 trillion. Far from benefiting the economy, this plan would decimate key industries.
Trump claims deportations will reduce unemployment and enhance security, but the reality is far more divisive. Large-scale raids would likely rely on racial profiling, subjecting people of colour — citizens and non-citizens alike — to unwarranted scrutiny. This would deepen societal divisions, perpetuating the false narrative that immigrants are a threat. Trump's rhetoric, branding Mexican immigrants as "rapists" and criminals, further stokes prejudice, despite his own history of legal and sexual misconduct allegations.
Ultimately, Trump’s immigration plan reveals a blatant disregard for human rights, economic stability, and social cohesion. His promises are not only impractical but also inhumane, threatening to undermine the very principles America was built upon. The question is not just whether this plan can be executed — but whether it should be.