The United States saw inflation decline in 2024, but economists warn that President-elect Donald Trump's plan to mass deport illegal immigrants could significantly impact prices.
“The economic impacts will certainly be felt,” said David J. Behr, director of migration studies at the Cato Institute. “There will be supply chain issues. There will be increases in prices and decreases in services.”
Experts worry that deporting so many illegal immigrants at once could leave a gap in the workforce. A 2023 study in the Journal of Labor Economics It found that 44,000 U.S.-born workers could lose their jobs for every 500,000 immigrants removed from the labor force.
“Immigrants, especially undocumented immigrants, are more likely to work in the types of jobs that produce goods and services where we see prices rising,” said Chloe East, a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research who works at the National Bureau of Economic Research. He was also one of the researchers behind the 2023 study.
“We can't say for sure what the effects will be,” she added. “But based on what we know from previous mass deportation efforts, it appears that for goods and services in which unauthorized immigrants are concentrated, such as construction and agriculture, prices are more likely to rise as a result of mass deportation efforts rather than fall.”
a witness video Above to see what other economic impacts mass deportation could have on the United States
