As nationwide deportation efforts continue, new research examined the labor market of a past president to help forecast what could happen if President Donald Trump follows through on his plans.

The Obama administration deported more than 3 million people. Trump said he wants to deport more, to increase jobs for U.S. citizens. A new report from the University of Colorado said U.S. presidents have a long history of blaming immigration for the country's economic troubles, even when research shows the opposite.

Chloe East, associate professor of economics at the University of Colorado in Denver, said mass deportations and raids incite fear and leave vacant jobs U.S. citizens are unlikely to fill.

"We really don't see this substitution between unauthorized immigrants and U.S.-born workers in the way that we're promised we will by politicians," East reported. "In fact, the effect sort of goes even beyond this lack of substitution."

She noted the industries most likely to be affected are construction, agriculture, manufacturing and service jobs, with positions tending to be lower paid, tougher or more dangerous. East argued keeping such jobs filled actually helps to increase U.S. labor opportunities. About 17% of Illinois workers are immigrants, including some 55,000 seasonal farmworkers.

Inconsistencies about who exactly is being targeted by ICE agents raises concerns about racial profiling. A leaked memo shows efforts have pivoted from focusing on people committing crimes to migrant familiesand unaccompanied children with no criminal histories. Migrant workers make up about 20% of the U.S. workforce. East observed it is striking to see history repeating itself.

"Whether we're looking a few decades back or a hundred years back, the results are very consistent and very clear that mass deportations are not the solution to any economic troubles," East explained.

While deportation data since Trump took office has yet to be released, the majority of news releases on the ICE website involve people from Mexico or Latin America. ICE said it will release updated deportation data every quarter.


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While Gov. Ron DeSantis touts "Operation Tidal Wave" as a success, advocates for Florida's immigrant families say the crackdown is tearing them apart - and ignoring their legal rights.

In a Thursday news conference at Miramar's ICE facility, where immigrants routinely report on their cases, officials celebrated the operation - even as community members now fear detention for keeping appointments.

Cuban mother Heidy Sanchez was deported after checking in and forced to leave her 1-year-old U.S.-citizen daughter behind, according to Renata Bozzetto, deputy director of the
Florida Immigrant Coalition.

"Heidy was just like every other immigrant going to that facility in Miramar to do what she was told to do - to present herself, follow the rules and be in constant contact with ICE agents - only to be trapped and deported," she said, "and that is absolutely heartbreaking."

Bozzetto said many immigrants who comply with ICE check-ins are being swept up. DeSantis claimed the operation has led to a 63% arrest rate of people with prior criminal convictions, but Bozzetto argued the state is obscuring the real impact - of families torn apart, workers disappearing from jobs, and U.S. citizens caught in the dragnet.

The operation has also raised concerns about racial profiling and what critics see as the state's disregard for court orders. Bozzetto pointed to constitutional violations and the lack of information about the 1,120 people Operation Tidal Wave claims to have taken into custody.

"When these stories are not given to us with the detail and the transparency that they deserve, we have various questions," she said, "including, did these individuals have the right to due process?"

Florida's aggressive approach includes its embrace of what are known as 287-G agreements, which allow local law enforcement to act as federal immigration agents. DeSantis has called these a key tool in immigration enforcement.


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An Illinois law professor is weighing in on what she called a "very public and open test of due process" for immigrants being deported from the United States without court hearings.

On Wednesday, a U.S. district judge denied the Justice Department's request to further delay the wrongful deportation case of a Maryland man, Kilmar Obrego Garcia, who was sent to a prison in El Salvador. Both a U.S. District Court and the U.S. Supreme Court have ordered the Trump administration to "facilitate" his return.

Victoria Carmona, clinical professor of immigration law, Chicago-Kent College of Law, said regardless of citizenship status, the lack of due process for one person is a crisis for everyone.

"The idea that the U.S. government is absolutely flouting our constitutional right to due process is terrifying, because if they're going to do it for one person, this is the test case," Carmona explained. "This is to see what can the government get away with and start pushing the odometer further and further away from due process. And it should be scary to everyone."

The government now has until May 5 to report any efforts it is making to comply with the court orders. In the meantime, Gov. JB Pritzker said Illinois is looking into ways to cut any state financial ties to Salvadoran companies in protest of that government's imprisonment of hundreds of deportees taken from the U.S. without court hearings.

Obrego Garcia already had a set of protections which said he could not return to his native country of El Salvador for fear of government persecution. The Justice Department said deporting him was an administrative error, although the Trump administration insists he is affiliated with a gang.

Carmona pointed out both countries' leaders are making the case more difficult to resolve.

"From El Salvador's perspective, I'm sure they're upset because their citizen had essentially claimed protections and saying that the El Salvadoran government would harm him if he returned," Carmona observed. "But this idea that the U.S. has no position to facilitate his return is an absolute lie."

Whatever happens to Obrego Garcia, Carmona added the unprecedented nature of the executive branch ignoring judicial orders has set the U.S. up for a constitutional crisis.

"At this point, I think Congress should be looking at impeachment," Carmona contended. "If Trump is going to clearly violate the Supreme Court orders, the resolution is impeachment."


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A new report warned mass deportations of undocumented immigrants in Washington would lead to labor shortages and make many goods and services more expensive.

Washington is home to 325,000 undocumented immigrants, many of whom work in agriculture, construction, and caregiving.

Kaitie Dong, senior policy analyst at the Washington State Budget and Policy Center and the report's co-author, said in 2022, undocumented workers paid nearly $1 billion in Washington state and local taxes, while generating nearly $150 billion a year for the state's gross domestic product.

"They take care of our children, they're our grocery store workers, they help build our homes," Dong outlined. "We cannot operate our day-to-day lives without immigrant workers."

Dong pointed out at a time when Washington is facing a huge revenue shortfall, giving undocumented workers legal status would boost the state's tax revenue by $100 million a year. The Trump administration said it is following through on a campaign pledge to tighten immigration enforcement.

Many of Washington's undocumented immigrants work in agriculture and the report showed losing just 5% of the workers would severely affect the state's food production, leading to higher prices. Dong warned deporting undocumented workers would also put U.S.-born employees at risk, since their jobs are interdependent. For example, she noted, migrant farmworkers often report to U.S.-born supervisors.

"The more immigrant workers that we lawlessly take away from the fields, the less need there is for U.S.-born supervisors to manage their crews," Dong pointed out.

Dong cautioned the Trump administration's deportation policies instill fear in undocumented immigrants, their families, and even U.S. citizens, and lead to lower graduation rates.

"If a parent is detained and deported, their children oftentimes will drop out of school to help support the family," Dong emphasized.

Dong added along with granting legal status, it is in Washington's best interest financially to uplift undocumented communities by funding programs providing them things like health care and unemployment benefits.


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