Mass Deportation: A Costly Burden on America’s Budget and Economy, Report Reveals

A special report by the American Immigration Council reveals the staggering financial implications of mass deportation in the United States, estimating a total cost of $967.9 billion over more than a decade. This far exceeds previous one-time cost projections and highlights the long-term financial burden of maintaining an expansive immigration enforcement system.

According to the report, mass deportation would require the U.S. to increase Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention capacity by 24 times, a daunting task involving the construction and upkeep of new detention facilities and temporary camps to hold up to one million people at any given time. These long-term costs, including those for detention infrastructure, significantly elevate the financial estimates beyond the short-term scope.

The report also stresses the need for over 1,000 new immigration courtrooms to process the large number of deportations. Even these projections may be conservative, as the analysis did not factor in the expenses of hiring tens of thousands of additional agents to make one million arrests annually. Additionally, the federal government would need to expand its fleet of ICE Air Operations charter aircraft to facilitate one million deportations each year, along with other auxiliary costs related to scaling up immigration enforcement.

The report underscores that the financial strain of such an operation would have a deep impact on America’s economy, requiring massive federal spending on infrastructure, staffing, and logistics. The American Immigration Council warns that these devastating costs would not only affect the national budget but also disrupt economic productivity and strain federal resources for years to come.

The report concluded that with undocumented immigrants making up nearly one in 20 workers, the long-term costs of a mass deportation operation, while difficult to fully quantify, would undoubtedly be vast. American businesses would face significant challenges in filling essential positions, leading to reduced hiring of both U.S.-born workers and authorized immigrants. This labor shortage would drive up prices and contribute to inflation, placing financial pressure on all Americans.

Moreover, the broader impact of implementing a mass deportation system on the U.S. government and its relationship with citizens can be anticipated, though not entirely measured. Widespread “fugitive operations,” where ICE agents raid homes and businesses across the country, would become a highly visible representation of federal authority. Americans, particularly those in immigrant-heavy communities or those perceived as “foreign” due to their ethnicity, would likely face repeated demands to prove their legal status. The construction of numerous soft-sided detention facilities would bring these camps into the daily view of many Americans, further affecting public perception.