Mark Tooley at WORLD asks if deporting millions of people is moral. His argument, however, seems to emphasize the impracticality or unwisdom of such an undertaking rather than the morality of it, but whether it's immoral or merely impractical, or both, Tooley's argument needs to be answered by those who support mass deportation.
Here's the crux of Tooley's case:
Superficially, deporting 11 million illegal immigrants is justified. It is the law, and the government is ordained to uphold the law. Case closed? Maybe not. Can all or most of the 11 million be plausibly identified, detained, and deported? It would be a massive undertaking without precedent in U.S. history....Personally, I don't think the Trump administration will seek to deport 11 million people. I think they'll do something more along the lines of what I wrote about over a decade ago. I'll revisit the argument outlined in that post tomorrow.
Attempted deportation of multiple millions would entail vastly more complex logistics with an even greater likelihood of confusion and death.
As to logistics, it is doubtful that the United States currently has the law enforcement manpower to apprehend, detain, and deport multiple millions of people. An estimate of the cost of detaining and deporting one illegal immigrant is nearly $20,000 and probably much more. Removing 11 million illegals in this scenario would cost at least $220 billion.
It is almost certain that millions of Americans who now say they favor mass deportations, once they are confronted by agonizing scenes and costs will vigorously change their minds.
And, of course, there would be other costs. Tens of thousands of employers would lose employees who, in a tight labor market, are not easily replaced. Wages would have to increase, adding to inflation and labor pressures.
Illegal immigrants often pay into the Social Security system while not receiving any benefits. They also often pay federal, state, and local taxes, estimated to be nearly $100 billion in 2022.
They pay sales tax on the consumer goods they consume. Those revenue sources [would] end.
Of course, illegal immigrants often have public costs. Their children are in public schools. The medical system must care for them if they’re sick. They use multiple other public services.
Still, a mass deportation of millions of illegal immigrants will affect and anger millions of U.S. citizens, especially small business owners, who benefit directly or indirectly from their presence. Political support for mass deportation might appeal to many in the abstract but less so in the implementation.
It’s also likely that, as in the 1950s, many legal immigrants and U.S. citizens will be caught in the dragnet due to inevitable bureaucratic incompetence and confusion. The victims will seek and likely get recompense at great cost to the U.S. Treasury.
Beyond financial costs, there are of course moral costs, which should interest Christians. Most illegal immigrants are not rapacious criminals but ordinary people seeking to advance economically...If illegal immigrants have lived here peaceably for years, their deportation might be legal, but would it be just? Or, if these persons are productive and aspire to be loyal American citizens, does it even make sense?
