Trump’s immigration crackdown is going to crush the economy

After backing off from building a border wall and funding it with taxpayer dollars, President Trump plans to add more border patrol agents and immigration and customs enforcement officers. Such a deportation force is estimated to cost around $5 trillion over a ten year period. This crackdown on undocumented immigrants could result in job losses which have not been seen since the Great Recession. For example, if farmers lost all their undocumented workers, we could see a significant rise in food prices. The biggest argument is that undocumented immigrants take away jobs from "Americans." Studies show that undocumented immigrants take upon more seasonal work and at wages that most Americans refuse. As baby boomers retire, our labor force is about to face a massive shift and at a time like this we need immigrants and their contributions to our GDP. It is predicted that if Trump continues with his policies and his crackdown there will be a significant labor gap which will cause a hinderance in creating the output necessary to generate growth. I agree with the writer, taxpayer money should be used make immigrants more included in American society rather than treating them like second class citizens. They promote growth as they are ready to work at lower wages, and boost the agriculture and tourism sectors. Such industries rely heavily on the labor of unauthorized workers. Those against undocumented workers overlook the daily costs consequently higher prices of food and basic services which we would then have to deal with undocumented workers. It will be interesting how far Trump will take his deportation agenda and how severely it will affect our economy.



http://www.cnbc.com/2017/04/26/trumps-immigration-crackdown-is-going-to-crush-the-economy-and-one-sector-in-particular-commentary.html