U.S. inflation is expected to cool in 2024, but economists warn that President-elect Donald Trump’s plan to mass deport undocumented immigrants could significantly affect prices.
“Certainly, people are going to feel the economic impact,” said David J. Beale, director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute. “There are going to be supply chain issues. Prices are going to go up, services are going to be reduced.”
Experts worry that deporting such a large number of undocumented immigrants at once could create a labor gap. one Journal of Labor Economics 2023 Research The study found that for every 500,000 immigrants who exit the labor force, 44,000 U.S.-born workers lose their jobs.
“Immigrants, especially unauthorized immigrants, are more likely to be in jobs that create goods and services, and the prices of those jobs are increasing,” said Chloe East, a researcher at the National Bureau of Economic Research and one of the researchers behind the 2023 study. one.
“We can’t be sure what the impact will be,” she said. “But based on what we know from past mass deportations, prices for goods and services where unauthorized immigration is super concentrated, such as construction and agriculture, are likely to rise, not fall, in response to mass deportations.”
watch video Read above to learn what other economic impacts mass deportations could have on the U.S.
