Trump’s mass deportation threat is a cruel lie - and it would wreck the US economy | Opinion

The “American dream” — a concept that for generations has inspired many to move to the United States. Where a person can come from nothing yet still achieve success and find happiness. A dream that many immigrants came to chase, and many of whom have realized. However, many of these people are fearful of a future where all the work they put into making that dream come true will be taken away.

The issue of immigration has been a major talking point for Donald Trump in his years of campaigning and presidency. During his 2016 run, his main solution to solve the issue was to build a wall between the United States and Mexican border. This was a “solution” that, according to the libertarian Cato Institute, would have cost tens of billions of dollars with limited payoff, considering there are other ways to get into the country such as by sea or, most commonly, by overstaying a lawful visa.

Trump’s newest proposal — unrealistic and ineffective — is a mass deportation. Yes, that’s right. Trump allegedly plans to deport an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the country, many of whom have been here for decades. Millions of whom have also had children in the country, making them U.S. citizens.

Nevertheless, such a mass deportation is impossible to achieve, and its supposed rationale is based in misinformation.

Trump’s arguments for building the wall and mass deportation are rooted in fearmongering tactics and lies. One of his popular tactics include his efforts to instill an idea that immigrants and crime are synonymous. Trump has exacerbated and mischaracterized information about undocumented immigrants who have committed crimes, and then instilled fear in people by claiming that those immigrants are roaming freely. One of Trump’s newest, most laughable scare tactics was a false allegation that Haitian immigrants in Ohio are eating house pets.

Vance’s false claims about housing shortage

It appears that Trump’s running mate J.D. Vance has attempted to take a more practical approach to the topic of immigration. Nevertheless, Vance’s continues to make inaccurate claims. During the vice presidential debate, he claimed that immigrants are the reason for the nation’s current housing problems. He stated that housing is “totally unaffordable because we brought in millions of illegal immigrants to compete with Americans for scarce homes.” This claim is based in fiction. Most undocumented immigrants are in worse positions to buy or rent homes than U.S. citizens. Many of them also lack the funds to compete in the current housing market.

These workers are at a large disadvantage to buy homes because of their status. According to Curbelo Law, an undocumented immigrant who wants to buy a home must have an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number number from the IRS, which requires them to pay taxes for the work they do in the United States. However, having an ITIN number limits a potential homebuyer to an ITIN loan. This loan requires an individual to make an above-average down payment, typically between 15% and 20%, but possibly as high as 30%. For reference, according to NerdWallet, 8% is the average down payment for a home for a first-time home buyer. Meanwhile, 15% is the typical average, with 20% being the maximum for most other buyers.

This discrepancy creates a barrier for undocumented immigrants to buy a home, especially considering the fact that many undocumented immigrants make far less than the average U.S. citizen. In fact, according to Pew Research, immigrant households have far less wealth than U.S.-born households, the average being $104,400 for immigrants and $177,200 for native born citizens, with a similar disparity in their incomes. Thus, the idea that undocumented immigrants are driving costs and competing with others in the housing market is completely unsupported. This can further be inferred by the fact that fewer than 30% of undocumented immigrants are actually homeowners.

Undocumented immigrants pay taxes

Although most undocumented immigrants do rent, their participation in the rental market is not the reason prices are currently inflated. Undocumented immigrants have been making their way into the country for years, yet there is no correlation between the influx of immigrants and the cost of rent. According to Politico, immigration surged in 2022, peaking in 2023, while rent prices were barely rising. In fact, many newer undocumented immigrants are less likely to compete in the rental market, as it is common for them to share overcrowded rental units. The reasons for this include the significant challenges that undocumented immigrants face to secure housing, such as language barriers, a lack of proper documentation, insufficient funds or the absence of a credit score, among other issues. Sharon Cornelissen, director of housing for the Consumer Federation of America, stated that immigrants historically move to “underused towns or neighborhoods without directly competing with native-born residents.” Thus, new undocumented immigrants are not the main contributors to current housing issues, let alone in areas where many native-born citizens are struggling to find affordable homes.

Despite the picture that the Trump campaign tries to paint, high housing costs are not an issue related to undocumented immigration. According to CNN Business, there have been some lasting effects to the spikes in the housing market that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. The network further explained that the Federal Reserve’s “war on inflation” caused mortgage rates to surge. These two issues combined have created difficulties in the housing market, whether it be in properties for rent or sale. Therefore, blaming the housing crisis on undocumented immigration is only an excuse to call for a mass deportation.

Nevertheless, a mass deportation, even if it did solve the housing crisis, would completely downplay the positive role that undocumented immigrants play in American society and the economy. Unfortunately, there is a belief that undocumented immigrants are taking advantage of public services funded by American taxpayers. However, undocumented immigrants with ITIN numbers pay taxes, helping fund the very public goods and services that they, as well as U.S.-born natives, utilize. The Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy reports that undocumented immigrants contribute about $11.74 billion in state and local taxes each year. And because they have no Social Security accounts, they never collect those benefits.

Construction, agriculture, hospitality industries

There’s another misconception that immigrants are “stealing” American jobs. To the contrary, immigrants often have limited English proficiency and foreign education, leading them to work commonly in manual labor and lower-level communication jobs. Moreover, undocumented immigrants typically have a harder time getting work because of their status. This leads them to accept jobs with employers who take advantage of them by paying them less and subjecting them to unsafe work environments. Various occupations and industries — including construction, agriculture and hospitality — would struggle without the participation of immigrants. Thus, a mass deportation would have a negative effect on the U.S. workforce. Additionally, despite financial and legal barriers, more than 408,000 undocumented students are enrolled in higher education, allowing them to go on to support themselves and the American economy.

Overall, a mass deportation — based on falsehoods — would completely erase the efforts that immigrants have made to create a better life for themselves and their families, as well as the contributions they make to the country despite their hurdles. Many of these immigrants have lived here for decades and have even given birth to native-born American citizens. They have become a part of communities. They are our friends, neighbors and co-workers. A mass deportation would lead to those families losing everything they have built over the years, leaving behind their homes, their friends and even some family members, as there are millions of families that are mixed status.

A mass deportation is completely against American beliefs: diversity, family values. a strong work ethic and the American dream.

This story was originally published October 23, 2024 at 5:07 AM with the headline "Trump’s mass deportation threat is a cruel lie - and it would wreck the US economy | Opinion."