Res. No. 708
Resolution condemning president-elect Donald Trump’s threat to carry out mass deportations against immigrants in the United States, and expressing support and solidarity with our immigrant communities.
By Council Members Cabán and Avilés
Whereas, President-elect Donald Trump made many threatening and disparaging remarks towards immigrants along his 2024 presidential campaign trail; and
Whereas, In his previous presidential Administration, Trump took actions that were damaging to immigrants either living or planning to immigrate to the United States, including terminating Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designations, moving to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, and banning entry to nationals of primarily “Muslim-majority” countries; and
Whereas, Trump plans to implement the “largest deportation operation in American history”, surpassing President Eisenhower’s military deportation effort; and
Whereas, Despite an existing prohibition under United States law from military involvement in civilian affairs, Trump has indicated he would enlist support from the United States military to enact this massive deportation operation; and
Whereas, Trump signaled he would declare a national emergency in order to deploy military resources for deportations and invoke the Alien Enemies Act and the Insurrection Act to federalize and deploy National Guard forces, deploy active duty armed forces, and allow for the militarized deportation of immigrants; and
Whereas, Although the cost of implementing Trump’s mass deportation plans is immeasurable when considering the toll it would take on human lives, a financial assessment of these plans shows it to be both expensive and unrealistic; and
Whereas, These mass deportation plans would affect roughly 13 million people living without an immigration status in the United States, the majority of whom have lived and worked in the United States for over 10 years and many who live in mixed-status households; and
Whereas, An American Immigration Council report estimates mass deportation would cost $88 billion annually for more than ten years to arrest, detain, process, and deport about one million people a year; and
Whereas, Mass deportations would also cause a significant loss in tax revenue contributed by undocumented workers, including $46.8 billion in federal tax revenue, $29.3 billion in state and local tax revenue, $22.6 billion to Social Security, and $5.7 billion to Medicare; and
Whereas, According to data from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, in a majority of states, undocumented immigrants pay more of their income in state and local taxes than the top 1% of all taxpayers; and
Whereas, Many industries would also be severely affected by deportations, including the construction industry where nearly 14% of its workforce is undocumented; and
Whereas, According to data from the Associated Builders and Contractors, the construction industry is already facing a workforce shortage and in 2025 will need to bring in over 450,000 new workers on top of their normal hiring in order to meet demands for labor, especially in the midst of an affordable housing shortage crisis; and
Whereas, Trump’s deportation plans would also cause economic devastation to mixed-status families whose primary breadwinner is undocumented and cause emotional damage towards any of the 5.1 million United States citizen children living with an undocumented family member; and
Whereas, The complete economic and social effect of a mass deportation operation is unknown, but Trump’s proposed plan would ultimately devastate families, communities, and the United States economy; and
Whereas, Terrorizing undocumented immigrants by threatening their life in the United States through mass deportation is inhumane; and
Whereas, In New York City, over 400,000 undocumented immigrants have deep roots in their communities and in their workforces, and all deserve safety and stability; and
Whereas, New York City is a city of immigrants and threats to their lives in the United States will not be tolerated; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York condemns president-elect Donald Trump’s threat to carry out mass deportations against immigrants in the United States, and expresses support and solidarity with our immigrant communities.
LS #18211, 18500
12/18/2024
RLB