Mass Deportations Would Impoverish US Families and Create Immense Social Costs

This paper assesses the impact of large-scale deportations on mixed-status families, i.e. families comprised of both documented and undocumented members. In 2014, there were 6.6 million US-born citizens residing in 3 million households with undocumented residents (usually parents). Of these US-born citizens, 5.7 million are children under the age of 18. Removing undocumented family members would reduce median household income by 47 percent (from $41,300 to $22,000). If just one-third of these children remained in the United States, the cost of raising them through their minority would total $118 billion. Gross domestic product would be reduced by 1.4 percent in the first year, and by $4.7 trillion over 10 years. In addition, the housing market would suffer a serious blow, as many households would default on mortgage loans. (Nicholas V. Montalto, Diversity Dynamics)

Download now or view online.