House Republican Says Trump Is ‘Gonna Crash the Economy’ if Mass Deportations Continue

AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein

Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R-IN) sounded the alarm on President Donald Trump’s mass deportation plan, stating that if the administration tries to deport every undocumented immigrant, the economy will crash.

Since taking office for the second time, Trump has pursued an aggressive deportation policy. Though on the campaign trail he promised to deport criminals, federal agents have conducted dragnets on factories, farms, schools, and other locations, where scores of undocumented immigrants have been apprehended, regardless of whether they have a criminal record.

Despite a New York Times report last month that said the president would ease up on raids at farms and restaurants, such raids have continued apace. Last week, a farm worker died during a raid by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at a cannabis farm in Southern California.

On Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal relayed remarks from a pair of House Republicans who expressed concern at the ongoing raids on businesses in the food industry.

The Journal said Stutzman took out his phone to reveal a message from a poultry farmer in his district. Stutzman stated that he has received several such messages.

“I have people they call me. They’re like, ‘I’m not sure if my crew is going to show up for work Monday morning, because if there’s a raid, or something like that, right?” the lawmaker said. “If you try to deport all of them, you’re gonna crash the economy.”

Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-PA), who is the chair of the House Agriculture Committee, also expressed concerns.

“The excuse that we’ve had from not taking steps to pass measures ensuring certainty and availability of workforce has been that the border hasn’t been under control,” Thompson explained. “That excuse is gone.”

The Journal added that some House Republicans are encouraging the Trump administration to “focus on changing immigration law to allow some workers to gain temporary legal status and make sure people can remain on the job.”