The narrative of Foday Turay is indicative of the absurdly broken immigration system we are grappling with today. Turay discovered his illegal status in his teens while trying to secure a driving license. Despite having only memories of life in the United States, he found that he possessed no legal proof supporting his right to stay in the country. Now a 28-year-old assistant district attorney in Philadelphia, Turay still struggles with his undocumented status.
There is an element of fear that has gripped Turay and his wife, who are now planning for a possible deportation to Sierra Leone – a country from which he fled as a child due to a brutal civil war. Despite never returning to his birth nation, he could potentially be shipped back owing to the firm stance on immigration being undertaken by the then President-elect Donald Trump, derided by many as an overreaction to an incredibly complex issue.
Trump’s measures made headlines, promising mass deportations on historical scales and pushing punitive policies against undocumented immigrants. His idea of giving more arrest powers to federal immigration officers, ending humanitarian programs, and rebuilding the border wall with Mexico is rather a ridicule and short-sighted attempt to ‘fix’ a deeply rooted and nuanced issue. Trump even went to the extent of stating that there would be ‘no price tag’ on these efforts, showcasing a disregard for economic implications.
Controversial initiatives such as workplace raids, family separations, and threatening the citizenship birthright mark Trump’s presidency, reflecting an attitude of brashness rather than contemplative policy-making. Ridiculed by many, legal immigration too was on the chopping block during his tenure. Echoing his volatile stance, Trump issued warnings to recent immigrants in a rather un-presidential manner, promising to do ‘whatever it takes to get them out’.
Trump routinely characterized illegal immigration as an ‘invasion’; an embodiment of impending doom ‘poisoning the blood of our country’. The hyperbolic assertion was a cornerstone of his campaign narrative, painting America as a ‘garbage can for the world’ instead of a thriving, multicultural nation built significantly by immigrants.
The United States is a nation comprising one-seventh foreign-born individuals, with half of them being naturalized citizens, denoting the inherent nature of an immigrant nation. The effects of fulfilling Trump’s hollow promises would rather lead to substantial consequences for not just the undocumented people, but their families – that often include full US citizens, and their employers. Prices in shops and services could rise due to a likely decrease in labour supply, and tax revenues could feel the pinch too.
The American Immigration Council estimated nearly 11 million undocumented migrants in the US by the end of 2022, though actual figures could be higher. A closer analysis suggests that they make up around 3-4% of the US’s 335 million population and slightly under a fourth of all immigrants. Given the lack of serious immigration reform for years, this group primarily forms the bedrock of America’s critical labour supply, predominantly in farms, construction firms, and hospitality businesses.
The Mexican immigrants are a large part of this undocumented populace, just as immigrants from distant nations like China. For over a century, the US has been heavily reliant on foreign labour, especially from Mexico. This dependence is often overlooked, benefitting employers with lower wages and consumers with low prices, solidifying the long-standing trend of mass immigration that moulds the country’s workforce.
The intricate and expensive task of untangling millions of immigrants from the workforce makes mass deportations an unreasonable and costly suggestion. Keeping the arduously constructed foundation of the nation intact, some previous Republican leaders have opted for amnesties over deportations, a route that has often spurred wage growth and economic expansion. Contrarily, Trump’s plans of mass deportations, bolstered by divisive rhetoric, may pose a significant threat to the nation’s economic and social fabric.
Earlier presidents like George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan, showing a more pragmatic approach to the issue, aimed for legalization. Reagan spoke eloquently about America’s success due to its embrace of immigrants, warning that losing the immigrants would mean losing world leadership. Decades later, this wisdom seems to have been forgotten, replaced by a policy of closed doors.
However, efforts for closed doors and mass deportations bring glaring fiscal challenges. Estimates from the University of California put the cost of Trump’s plans at a staggering $500 billion. The one-time deportation operation, described as ‘highly conservative’, is projected to cost approximately $315 billion. A burden on the economy, such figures expose the fiscal recklessness at the heart of mass deportation plans.
The humanitarian impact of such measures raises critical questions. With many undocumented individuals raising their families, including US-born children, in the country, deportation policies would tear families apart. The workforce, which is about a fifth foreign-born, would struggle to fill jobs that have been avoided for years, potentially causing significant disruptions in industries and services.
On paper, mass deportations may appeal to some, promising a reduction in illegal immigration. However, the economic, familial, and social fallout of such drastic measures needs thorough assessment. Trump’s divisive strategy, while cheered by his supporters, furthers a narrow narrative that neglects the complex realities of immigration and risks causing more harm than good.