President Trump's immigration crackdown has failed to expand job opportunities for American workers, instead creating an employment drain for some U.S.-born men and offering no evidence that employers raised wages to attract U.S.-born workers, according to a new study cited by Axios. The research concluded that these results reflected a reduction in overall demand, impacting the broader economy and the working class.
The Washington Post reported that President Donald Trump’s immigration raids and checkpoints are weighing on the labor market, leading to fewer jobs for U.S.-born men without a college degree as well as undocumented immigrants. This economic study, released this week, highlights the shared detriment across different segments of the working class, rather than the promised benefit for domestic labor.
Axios noted that the research, conducted by Chloe East, an associate professor of economics at the University of Colorado Boulder, and Elizabeth Cox, a research assistant, is the first of its kind to study the national labor market impacts of the Trump 2.0 ICE blitz. This signifies a critical examination of the state's enforcement apparatus and its real-world consequences.
Who Pays the Cost
The study found an employment drain for some U.S.-born men. This directly contradicts the stated aim of the crackdown to protect and expand opportunities for this demographic, revealing the policy's failure to benefit the domestic working class.
Furthermore, there was no evidence that employers raised wages to attract U.S.-born workers. This indicates a continued wage suppression, where capital is not compelled to increase labor costs despite the supposed reduction in competition from immigrant labor.
In areas hit with an ICE “surge,” the research noted a 4% decrease in employment among likely undocumented workers still in the U.S. in likely affected jobs. This demonstrates the direct and measurable impact of state enforcement on the most vulnerable segments of the working class, forcing them into deeper precarity.
Chloe East described U.S.-born workers as filling “complementary” jobs. She explained that when a construction company struggles to find workers for certain tasks, they will build fewer homes and fewer new buildings in general, leading to fewer hires overall, including for jobs typically taken by U.S.-born workers like electricians or roofers. This illustrates how the division of labor, enforced by state policy, ultimately harms all workers by reducing overall economic activity and opportunities.
The State's Role in Division
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson stated there “is no shortage of American minds and hands to grow our labor force” and that “President Trump's agenda to create jobs for American workers represents this Administration's commitment to capitalizing on that untapped potential while delivering on our mandate to enforce our immigration laws.” This rhetoric frames state actions as beneficial for the domestic working class, even as the study reveals the opposite, serving to justify the state's role as an enforcer of capital's interests.
The research suggested the “chilling effect” under Trump 2.0 was larger than during past mass deportation efforts. This intensified fear among immigrant workers serves to further control and suppress a segment of the labor force, making them more vulnerable to exploitation and less likely to organize.
East elaborated on this, stating, “Because there is such a randomness and indiscriminate nature to what ice is doing right now, lots of people are afraid to leave their home, even more so than we've seen before.” This indiscriminate enforcement by the state apparatus creates widespread fear, hindering the ability of workers to participate freely in the economy and daily life, and preventing collective action.
The study's findings expose the inadequacy of state-led immigration enforcement as a solution for improving the conditions of the working class. Instead of fostering prosperity, these policies create an environment of fear and reduced economic activity, ultimately benefiting capital by maintaining a divided and suppressed labor force, preventing any unified challenge to surplus extraction.