Image by Zohair Mirza.

Donald Trump vowed to begin deporting undocumented migrants “on day one” of his administration, and day one is rapidly approaching.

If Trump’s working-class voters believed that deporting 13.3 million people will somehow improve their economic lives, many will soon learn that mass deportation harms all working people, not only migrants, and will help exacerbate a growing, oppressive inequality.

Consider first the anticipated labor shocks in agriculture and construction. Almost three-quarters of agricultural workers are immigrants, and 40 percent of them are undocumented. About one-fifth of workers in construction are undocumented. Because these undocumented immigrants make up such a significant proportion of workers in these key industries, deporting them will lead to critical labor shortages that will likely drive up food prices and hinder efforts to increase the housing supply.

Consider, too, anticipated losses of tax revenues and contributions to Medicare and Social Security. Because undocumented workers pay taxes and pay into Medicare and Social Security, their expulsion will mean the loss of billions in local, state, and federal tax revenues (e.g. $76.1 billion paid in 2022 alone) and the loss of billions more in........

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