President-elect Donald Trump has promised to follow through on one of his key campaign promises: deporting undocumented migrants.
“I got a message to the millions of illegal aliens that Joe Biden released into our country in violation of federal law,” Trump appointed ‘border czar’ Tom Homan said at the Republican National Convention in July. “You better start packing now.”
That comment sparked fear among Pennsylvania’s undocumented immigrant community, which numbers around 170,000 people.
“We’re going to bring proper and appropriate lawful deportation, particularly to criminals,” Pennsylvania Republican Congressman Dan Meuser, who also chaired Trump’s PA campaign, said. “Nobody can really argue with that.”
It’s unclear how the deportations will take place.
“I believe President Trump and his team are bamboozling the American People,” Democratic State Representative Danilo Burgos said.
Concerns from immigration groups include the welfare of undocumented migrants and the potential economic consequences of deporting thousands of them.
“When you take people away from their families, from their kids, and you take them out of their workplace, there’s going to be consequences for the economy,” ACLU attorney Witold Walczak said.
According to the American Immigration Council, undocumented immigrants account for around one percent of Pennsylvania’s GDP and two percent of its labor, contributing an estimated $240 million in state and local taxes.
“It’s just not economically savvy to say we’re gonna do mass deportation when the majority of immigrants, documented or undocumented, are contributing to the growth of Pennsylvania,” Burgos said.
Meuser stated that he is not opposed to immigration but believes that there should be “high fences and wide gates.” He also called for immigration reform.
The American Immigration Council believes that mass deportations might cost taxpayers approximately $300 billion.