VICTOR JOECKS: Debunking the left’s deportation hysteria

Illegal immigration activists are already panicked that Donald Trump will keep one of his biggest campaign promises.

Trump recently announced that Tom Homan will be his “border czar.” Homan isn’t a household name, but he has had a long career in government. He was the acting head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement during Trump’s first term. He was also ICE’s executive associate director of enforcement and removal operations under President Barack Obama. Trump wants him to put those skills to use.

“Tom Homan will be in charge of all Deportation of Illegal Aliens back to their Country of Origin,” Trump wrote. This shouldn’t come as a surprise. During the campaign, Trump vowed to oversee “the largest deportation operation in the history of our country.”

Many voters welcomed this. The millions of illegal aliens who entered the country since President Joe Biden took office overwhelmed even self-declared “sanctuary” cities. In several high-profile cases, such as the death of Laken Riley, officials believe illegal immigrants murdered Americans. A Venezuelan gang even took over an apartment complex in Aurora, Colorado.

But the left’s fearmongering over Trump’s deportation plans has already begun. Their first objection is that it’s logistically impossible. It would be very difficult to identify and move 15 million illegal immigrants out of the country. But it’s also hard to solve every murder case. That doesn’t keep police from solving the ones they can.

In an August interview, now-Vice President-elect JD Vance endorsed this step-by-step approach. “Let’s start with 1 million” and “then we can go from there,” he said.

The next objection is that it will cost too much. There is an element of truth in that. Enforcing laws is costly. But as blue cities learned the hard way, the “defund the police” alternative is far worse.

This concern ignores how expensive it is for state and local governments to provide services to illegal immigrants. In 2023, New York City officials estimated illegal immigrants cost the city $4 billion annually. For context, in 2023, the NYPD’s annual budget was $5.8 billion.

Also, you should never take Democrats seriously when they object to spending government money. Just look at the trillions they doled out during Biden’s first term.

Another concern is that deporting illegals will hurt the economy. The theory is that deporting millions of illegal immigrants would shrink the supply of low-skilled workers. That would force companies to pay higher wages, which would raise prices.

It probably would for some products, but look at the why again. Illegal immigrants have artificially boosted the supply of people competing for entry-level jobs and working in manual labor industries such as construction. That has lowered wages for low-skill workers. Boosting those wages would be a good thing, even if it raises prices for those higher up the income ladder. Plus, removing millions of illegal immigrants would lower housing prices.

Finally, there will be claims that it’s cruel. The propaganda press is eager to blame deportations for causing a “family separation” crisis. But deportations don’t need to entail that. Illegal immigrant parents should be allowed to take their children with them when they leave.

The government routinely separates U.S. citizens who commit crimes from their children. The responsibility in both cases lies with the parents who broke the law.

There’s also a practical benefit to Trump talking up deportations and reinstituting policies such as “Remain in Mexico.” If would-be illegal immigrants know they won’t be able to enter and stay in the country, fewer will try to cross the border.

Regardless of how deportations go, that would be a major victory.