Undocumented workers are 3.6% of the US population. The mass deportation that a majority of Americans voted for will disproportionately impact construction, agriculture and hospitality industries. Mass deportation will remove 30% of workers in major construction trades and 28% of graters and sorters who keep agricultural businesses afloat. A quarter of domestic household workers will be sent packing. Among the millions of undocumented workers who will be deported are one million entrepreneurs who pump an estimated 27 billion back into the US economy. Mass deportation will deprive local, state and federal governments of 46 billion in federal tax dollars that would no longer be paid, and another 29 billion in state and local taxes. When Trump deports with “shock and awe” as promised, the result will be a 4.2% decline in US GDP, which is only slightly better than the 4.6% decline we experienced in the Great Recession.
Again, I want to see the look on the faces of those holding up Deport Now signs when Iceberg lettuce at Kroger is $12 a head.