In numbers: What Trump’s mass deportation plan could cost the US economy

Donald Trump has vowed to start the mass deportation of millions of undocumented migrants as soon as he takes office as United States president on January 20.

While Trump has provided little detail on his plans for a major immigration crackdown, economic research suggests it would come at a high cost. The deportation of masses of workers would curb production and tax revenues, hitting key industries, state economies and overall growth, the research shows.

Trump issued a series of executive actions, including those aimed at cracking down on legal and illegal immigration and ramping up deportations on Monday.

The Peterson Institute for International Economics estimates the US economy could shrink 1.2% by 2028 if the government deports 1.3 million people, which it considers to be at the “low-end” of the deportation goal. Gross domestic product could fall by a whopping 7.4% over that timeframe if it deports all 8.3 million undocumented immigrants that work in the US, it added.

Here is all you need to know about the economic impact in numbers:

How many workers

Out of the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States in 2022, 8.3 million were part of the workforce that year, according to the Pew Research Center.

While undocumented immigrants only represent a small share of the US labour force – namely 4.8% in…

Read more