On Jan 23, 2025 the Fiscal Policy Institute of the Immigration Research Initiative released a detailed report. It describes how Trump’s mass deportation will negatively affect the New York economy. Immigration Research Initiative is a nonprofit, nonpartisan think-tank on immigrant integration. It looks at issues of economic, social, and cultural inclusion of immigrants in the United States. Their findings show a bleak future for New York if Trump’s ICE raids result in the mass deportations he promised during his election campaign. The report highlights the significant contributions of undocumented immigrants in New York. It emphasizes the severe economic impact their deportation would have. This report underscores the vital role of undocumented immigrants in New York, whose contributions are crucial to the state’s economic health.
The Immigration Research Initiative is a nonprofit, nonpartisan think-tank on immigrant integration. The think-tank looks at issues of economic, social, and cultural inclusion of immigrants in the United States. Their findings show a bleak future for New York if Trump’s ICE raids result in the mass deportations he promised during his election campaign. The report highlights the significant contributions of undocumented immigrants in New York. It shows how mass deportations could devastate the state’s economy.
Here are the Key Findings of this report:
– There are 1.8 million non-citizens in New York, and 670,000 of those are undocumented.
– The undocumented immigrants in New York workforce contributed an estimated $3.1 billion in state and local taxes in 2022. If mass deportations occur, this revenue stream will sharply decline. This would impact essential public services.
– Deporting even 10% of undocumented individuals could result in a loss of $310 million in tax revenue. This is equivalent to the cost of providing free school meals to all public school children in the state.
– In New York, key industries in the state, including restaurants and construction, rely on the labor of undocumented immigrants. Deporting them would trigger severe labor shortages and rising costs, hurting businesses and consumers alike.
– Mass deportations would cause a huge loss of restaurant chefs, cooks, food preparation workers, waiters, dishwashers, maids, housekeepers, babysitters, caretakers for the elderly and disabled, and construction workers.
– Over half of the crop workers in America are noncitizens. The vast majority of these workers are either undocumented or on H-2B seasonal/temporary visa.
– Eliminating immigrants from farm work would be nearly unimaginable. Reducing the number of immigrant workers by even five or ten percent would have dramatic negative consequences.
– The logistical challenges and costs associated with deporting over 600,000 individuals would be substantial, potentially disrupting businesses and communities.
– Granting legal status to undocumented immigrants in New York could increase state and local tax revenues by $900 million. This proves that integration, rather than removal, would strengthen the economy.
Rather than doing mass deportations, it would benefit our economy to legalize people without criminal backgrounds and with good vetting. That approach would increase New York state and local tax revenues by $900 million.
Read the report here.
If you’re among the undocumented immigrants in New York seeking a pathway to legal status, contact Shepelsky Law Group today to explore your options!