Mass Deportation Insanity

Trumpians Ignore the History of Disastrous Deportation Outcomes

“Trump’s deportation agenda will destroy millions of jobs. Both immigrants and U.S.-born workers would suffer job losses, particularly in construction and child care.”

Ben Zipperer, Economic Policy Institute Report, July 10, 2025

You know the definition of insanity, right? Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome.

By this definition, MAGA support for Trump’s campaign of mass deportation is a reflection of mass insanity.

Between 1929 and 1936, the “Mexican Repatriation” deported nearly two million people of Mexican descent, half of whom were U.S. citizens, with a profoundly negative impact on the farming and mining industries while creating no new jobs for white Americans and exacerbating the economic pain of the Great Depression.

In 1954, “Operation Wetback” deported more than one million people to Mexico, including U.S. citizens of Mexican descent. The severe shortage it caused among farmworkers led to creation of the Bracero guest worker program to bring many of them back.

In 1965, to compensate for the end of the Bracero program, the USDA launched the “High School Farm Labor” program. It was a disaster; enrollment was low, attrition was nearly 100%, and high school students who did participate came nowhere close to matching the productivity of deported farmworkers.

Between 1996 and 2000, the “Welfare-to-Farmwork” campaign spectacularly failed with most participants lasting only a few days in the fields before walking away, and farm operators experiencing significant losses.

Following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, mass deportations targeted Muslim, Arab, and South Asian communities, creating labor shortages for businesses in the construction, agriculture, food services, and hospitality industries.

Mass deportation has always caused far more harm than benefit. Under Trump’s regime history is already beginning to repeat itself. Perverse consequences of stupid policy decisions often take time to unfold, but they will unfold.