The economy in Illinois and in the rest of the U.S. is likely to take a major hit if Trump’s immigration plans are put into effect. Economists on both the left and the right agree that robust immigration offers a net benefit to the nation. Despite this, the Trump administration has taken a hardline stance towards immigration. This could result in a reduction in the available labor force and a slowing economy. As the Trump administration moves to limit immigration and to deport more people, businesses may become less competitive and be unable to find enough workers to fill their available positions.
Impacts of Trump’s Plans
Immigration helps to drive the growth of the labor force and is a source of that growth. If Trump proceeds with deporting the Dreamers, the Cato Institute reports that it will cost the U.S. $60 billion. Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen states that immigration restrictions will lead to a further slowing in the growth of the labor force. She indicates that slow labor-force growth results in an economy that also grows more slowly. The Center for American Progress reports that implementing Trump’s policy of mass deportation would result in an immediate reduction in the gross domestic product of 1.4 percent. CAP also reports that the U.S. would lose an estimated $4.7 trillion in the GDP that it would have otherwise enjoyed in the absence of mass deportation.
Deporting immigrants en masse would also mean that there are fewer businesses in the nation. Immigrants are far likelier to start their own businesses than U.S. citizens. A study that was completed in 2012 by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation found that 49.3 percent of the new startups in Silicon Valley were started by immigrants. Across the nation, immigrants are responsible for 24.3 percent of all new startup companies.
Harming Constituents
Trump’s immigration policies are likeliest to harm communities that are located in economically depressed areas. The farming and manufacturing sectors stand to take big hits if the hardline immigration policies are implemented. Other sectors that stand to lose include the service and retail sectors. The technology industry relies on immigrants to fill positions. Congress should take the economic impacts under advisement and act accordingly to protect immigration and the economy.
