By Dmitri Bolt | Commentary, Townhall
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent argued on Thursday that mass deportations are already improving Americans’ economic circumstances. He pointed to a tightening labor market, rising wages for working-class Americans following the departure of more than one million illegal immigrants from the workforce, and reduced pressure on rents as fewer illegal immigrants compete for jobs and housing.
However, it is important to remember that these problems existed long before illegal immigration reached its current scale, and they will remain long after, if we do not strike at the root of the affordability issue.
“Things are getting better. We’re seeing construction jobs picking up. We’re seeing manufacturing jobs picking up. The unemployment rate dropped. We’re seeing the big component of the workforce, the mid 20s to mid 50s is very stable. And Rob, the other important thing too, is these jobs are going to Americans. Like we have seen over 2 million jobs created for Americans and we’ve seen over a million illegals leave the workforce. And guess what? The laws of supply and demand still work,” the Treasury Secretary said. “When you take the illegals out of the workforce, working class wages go up. When you send them back home, rents go down.”
Supply and demand still work, and mass deportations can ease demand-side pressures. The Trump administration is, of course, right to pursue immigration enforcement. But Americans should not be fooled into believing that deportations alone will resolve the entire affordability crisis.
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