A new study released Friday predicts that President Trump’s immigration policies will shrink the U.S. workforce by 15 million over the next decade.
In an analysis of deportation efforts led by the White House, the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP) wrote the following:
“The Trump administration’s policies on illegal and legal immigration would reduce the projected number of workers in the United States by 6.8 million by 2028 and by 15.7 million by 2035 and lower the annual rate of economic growth by almost one-third, harming U.S. living standards.”
The study claimed that Trump’s immigration policies could increase the federal debt by $1.74 trillion and reduce GDP by $12.1 trillion over the next decade.
“The reductions in legal immigration include suspending and reducing refugee admissions, the travel ban enacted in 2025, ending Temporary Protected Status and humanitarian parole programs, prohibiting international students from working on Optional Practical Training and STEM OPT after completing coursework and other changes, such as an expected public charge rule, to restrict legal immigration,” researchers wrote. “The analysis does not include the likely significant economic impact of restricting U.S. companies’ access to high-skilled foreign nationals through regulatory and administrative action, which could affect productivity growth.”
The Trump administration aims to deport at least 1 million illegal aliens annually. The Labor Department warned the plan could raise food prices by shrinking the agricultural workforce. Taxpayers are funding a $45 billion expansion of immigration enforcement, including increased detention capacity for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to the NFAP. They also claim that as expenditures rise, so will the country’s debt.
“Increasing the federal debt will reduce living standards in the United States by leading to higher levels of taxation, inflation and interest rates than without such debt,” researchers wrote. “Labor force growth is a crucial part of the economic growth that advances a country’s living standards and facilitates the financing of existing debts and obligations. With the U.S.-born population aging and growing at a slower rate, immigrants have become an essential part of American labor force growth.”
