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The
research adds to concerns about the Republican White House
nominee's policy proposals, which range from tearing up
international trade agreements to building a wall along the U.S.
border with Mexico.
About 6.8 million of the more than 11 million immigrants living
in the United States illegally are employed, according to
government statistics. Removing them would cause a slump of
$381.5 billion to $623.2 billion in private sector output, the
Washington-based non-profit said in its analysis.
The study added that removing those workers could leave
potentially millions of jobs unfilled due to a lack of legal
workers willing to do them. Industries with the highest share of
undocumented workers include farming, construction, and
hospitality, according to the research.
"The things Donald Trump has said are utterly unworkable," said
Douglas Holtz-Eakin, the forum's president, and the top economic
adviser to Senator John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign.
Trump, who effectively sealed the Republican nomination this
week, has called for the deportation of anyone living in the
United States illegally, arguing foreign workers hold down
salaries and contribute to unemployment.
That position has drawn strong opposition from business leaders
like the conservative billionaire Koch brothers as well as from
human rights advocates. Trump has further angered opponents by
saying Mexico was sending rapists and drug dealers to the United
States, and by calling for a temporary ban on Muslims entering
the country to shore up national security.
But his hard line stance on immigration has also triggered
strong support among many U.S. voters.
Some 52.6 percent of respondents to a Reuters/Ipsos poll
conducted in September said they want to see most or all
undocumented immigrants deported, compared with 34.6 percent who
want to see most or all of them stay.
The American Action Forum analysis used data from the Bureau of
Labor Statistics to estimate the value of the output from
undocumented immigrants. It also concluded that there would not
likely be enough legal employees in these sectors to fill the
vacancies that would result from mass deportations.
The study did not factor in potential impacts of mass
deportations on consumption, investment and other economic
factors, the group said.
The U.S. economy is projected to produce some $18.7 trillion
worth of goods and services in 2016, according to the
International Monetary Fund. A loss of $400 billion in output
would amount to about 2 percent of that figure.
(Editing by Richard Valdmanis and Alistair Bell)
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