Well for starters, this is not the first time Trump has said something like that. Neither is it the first time he has attempted something like that.
Campaign Promise
Back in 2015, during his campaign, Trump said he was going to carry out the mass deportation of about 11 million undocumented illegal immigrants. After winning power in 2016, he reduced the number to between 2 million and 3 million. And this time, he qualified it with “people with criminal records”. And I suppose that was advice from someone with an immigration or a legal background.
Even after winning power, his tenure saw the lowest margins of deportations.
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Western Migration
As of 2022, migration to the whole of the EU was 5.1 million. Germany topped the list with about 2,071.7, followed by Spain with a total of 1,258.9. Slovakia recorded the lowest of about 5.5 immigrants. And these are a total of 27 countries.
And Trump wants to deport 15 million people from just the U.S. in just four years? America is not Slovakia, being the lowest in the E.U. to receive immigrants, where it would be relatively easier to identify illegal immigrants.
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Who Deported More?
To put things in context, according to Kathleen Bush-Joseph, a policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute, Trump deported only 1.5 million people in four years. On the other hand, Barrack Obama deported 2.9 in his first term and 1.9m during his second term.
Biden deported 1.49 million people and this does not include the millions of people turned away at the border
So practically speaking, Barack Obama and Biden deported more illegal immigrants than Trump did.
Handling the border issues surrounding Mexico was enough hell for Trump’s administration, not to mention deporting those huge numbers.
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How Easy Is Deportation? Or How Difficult Is Deportation?
Additionally, deportation is not a one-day process. Neither is it a one-month process. Better yet, it may not be a 6 months process either. No matter how brutal Trump becomes in his mass deportation attempts, such a height may be almost impossible, considering he has just a four-year term.
Now this is why it would be difficult. Firstly, all those undocumented immigrants have to be located. Yes, America has sophisticated systems, but finding who is legal and who is not is not that simple. It’s unlike Slovenia, which has the most limited number of undocumented immigrants in Europe as of 2022. In America, everyone almost looks the same.
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Secondly, even after finding them, they have the right to a fair hearing, and the legal process is also not a one-month process.
Economic Implications
Additionally, since most immigrants travel for greener pastures, they mostly do jobs that normal citizens will not do for meagre wages. So, assuming all these immigrants are deported, Americans will have to do those jobs and hell, they will demand a higher wage, and that will have a massive impact on the prices of goods and services, causing possible inflation.
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Besides, the logistical and administrative processes involved in mass deportations are overwhelming. Currently, the U.S. has over 1.3 million people who have received notices of removal but have not yet been deported. Has Trump considered all of these factors and the backlogs that would be pending for about 15 million people? Or is it just a political talk and a campaign message to excite some voters?
Trump may not fully understand the laws, and I’m utterly surprised no one is advising him, just yet.
