Trump's Immigration Crackdown Is Backfiring, Costing Jobs for US-Born Workers

The Trump administration’s long-touted immigration crackdown is doing the exact opposite of what it promised. According to a recent study highlighted by the New Zealand Herald, increased ICE activity under Trump’s second term has been a disaster for the US labor market, hurting both immigrant and native-born workers.

Economist Chloe East, co-author of the paper, bluntly states that “heightened ICE activity has been really harmful for the labour market, not only for immigrant workers who remain in the US but also for US-born workers.” This directly contradicts the White House’s narrative, which insists that deportations create more jobs for Americans.

Abigail Jackson, a White House spokeswoman, doubled down by claiming there is “no shortage of American minds and hands to grow our labour force,” framing Trump’s immigration agenda as a patriotic effort to unlock “untapped potential.” But the data tells a different story.

The White House has repeatedly pushed the misleading slogan “Mass deportations = more jobs,” citing an increase in US-born workers joining the labor force as immigrants lose theirs. Economists have consistently disputed these claims, and the new research confirms their skepticism.

The study reveals that job losses for native-born workers are concentrated in industries heavily reliant on undocumented immigrant labor, including agriculture, construction, and manufacturing. A 2024 study on construction further underscores this trend, showing that deporting lower-skilled immigrant workers like roofers and laborers also threatens higher-skilled native-born workers such as electricians and plumbers.

East draws a stark historical parallel, noting that whether in the 1930s, 2010s, or projected 2025, “mass deportations are not helpful for the labour market overall and do not create more job opportunities for US-born workers.”

The Trump administration’s immigration enforcement policies, far from boosting American employment, are destabilizing critical sectors and undermining the very workers they claim to protect. This study adds to mounting evidence that the crackdown is a costly political stunt with real economic consequences.

For readers tracking the ongoing fallout from Trump’s authoritarian immigration agenda, this latest research is a clear warning: the administration’s claims are not just misleading—they are economically destructive.