A Mexican economist’s criticism of President-elect Donald J. Trump’s plan to mass deport illegal immigrants from the United States inadvertently bolsters the America First leader’s arguments that migrants are driving up costs and negatively impacting the economy. Ismael Plascencia López, with the Northwest Mexico Federation of Economists, warns that Trump’s mass deportation plans could cripple Mexico’s economy and balloon the government’s budget.
“They’re talking about deporting 11 to 13 million undocumented migrants now in the United States; it seems like an impossible task. But, if only one to two million people get deported, it would still be a huge strike on the Mexican economy,” López said in a recent interview.
He explained: “It’s going to be a blow just in terms of the number of people sent here, but what about all those countries that refuse to take in their own people? They will likely end up in Mexico; you have to care for them as well.”
López and other experts contend that the flood of migrants into Mexico will force the government to redirect substantial resources to support deported individuals—necessitating investments in food, housing, and transportation.
On the 2024 campaign trail, both President-elect Trump and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance repeatedly argued that the Biden government’s mass immigration policies were a core driver in the increasing cost of housing and food in the U.S. In addition to fueling rising prices, Trump and Vance noted the unchecked flow of illegal immigrants into the country under Joe Biden is also suppressing the wages of native-born American workers.
Economists are also cautioning that mass deportations could reduce the flow of remittances from Mexican immigrants residing in the U.S. The National Bank of Mexico reports that $63.3 billion in remittances were received from the U.S. in 2023 alone.
