The Trump campaign’s promise of mass deportations of undocumented immigrants has been a central theme in his re-election bid. With calls to remove up to one million people without legal permission to be in the United States, the logistical and legal challenges of such a plan are coming under scrutiny.
Experts point out that the current immigration court system is already overwhelmed with backlogs, and any drastic increase in deportations would require a massive expansion. Additionally, the patchwork of local, state, and federal laws in the US further complicates the picture, with many cities and counties passing laws restricting local police cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice).
The financial costs of such a mass deportation plan are estimated to run into tens or even hundreds of billions of dollars, with significant investments needed in detention facilities, removal flights, and additional resources. The political costs are also high, with potential public relations backlash from “nightmarish images” of families being separated and deported.
While mass deportations have happened in the past, such as Operation Wetback in 1954, experts caution that the current situation is vastly different, with a diverse population of undocumented immigrants from various countries making it much harder to carry out such a plan.
As the Trump campaign continues to push for mass deportations, the feasibility and consequences of such a policy remain a topic of debate and concern among experts and advocates.
