A new study from the Manhattan Institute has found that mass deportations of unskilled criminal aliens could significantly reduce America’s national deficit. The study, led by researcher Daniel Di Martino, reveals that the financial burden criminal aliens place on taxpayers could be alleviated if they were removed from the U.S.
Di Martino’s research shows that illegal border crossers, who typically lack a college education, cost U.S. taxpayers an average of $130,000 over their lifetimes. For older criminal aliens, the cost jumps to $196,000 per individual. If these individuals were deported, their net cost to taxpayers would fall to zero, saving the country a significant amount.
If the current immigration status quo continues, Di Martino estimates that taxpayers will spend $1.1 trillion over the next 70 years. In contrast, mass deportations would eliminate these long-term costs, providing much-needed relief to the national deficit.
Di Martino’s study challenges a previous claim from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), which suggested that continued illegal immigration would reduce the budget deficit by $900 billion over the next decade. Di Martino argues that the CBO’s analysis is flawed because it doesn’t account for the long-term costs of entitlement programs, healthcare, and public services like education and infrastructure.
The report also emphasizes the economic benefits of legal, highly educated immigrants, who reduce the deficit by over $300,000 during their lifetimes. Di Martino suggests that combining a selective immigration policy with mass deportations could save the U.S. up to $1.9 trillion.
As President Donald Trump continues to advocate for mass deportation policies, a recent poll shows that 54% of Americans, including a majority of Republicans and independents, support the plan.
