“At What Cost?” Trump’s Mass Deportation Obsessions Take Priority over Billions in Tax Paying and Federal Crime-Fighting

Access online version of this press release HERE

Washington, DC — As America’s Voice has been highlighting in our “At What Cost?” campaign, all Americans will pay a high price because of Trump and Republicans’ chaotic and cruel immigration agenda and mass deportation obsessions. Two fresh reminders are evident in reports from recent days:

●     Reuters: “Thousands of agents diverted to Trump immigration crackdown,” noting, “Federal agents who usually hunt down child abusers are now cracking down on immigrants who live in the U.S. illegally. Homeland Security investigators who specialize in money laundering are raiding restaurants and other small businesses looking for immigrants who aren’t authorized to work. Agents who pursue drug traffickers and tax fraud are being reassigned to enforce immigration law. As U.S. President Donald Trump pledges to deport ‘millions and millions’ of ‘criminal aliens,’ thousands of federal law enforcement officials from multiple agencies are being enlisted to take on new work as immigration enforcers, pulling crime-fighting resources away on other areas — from drug trafficking and terrorism to sexual abuse and fraud.”

●     Washington Post: “IRS nears deal with ICE to share addresses of suspected undocumented immigrants,” noting, “The IRS has for years reassured undocumented workers that their tax information is confidential and that it is safe for them to file income tax returns without fear of being deported. About half — possibly more — of the roughly 11 million undocumented immigrants in the country file income tax returns to document their payments to the U.S. government, according to researchers.” As Bloomberg reported last year, undocumented immigrants currently pay “nearly 100 billion in taxes” each year.

According to Vanessa Cárdenas, Executive Director of America’s Voice:

“The Trump team’s mass deportation obsession has no bounds, it is dangerous and makes no sense. They are willing to make us less safe–including our children–to go after tax-paying immigrants who pay nearly $100 billion in taxes and Social Security every year and are vital workers in key industries. They are diverting money and manpower away from federal investigations into child abuse, drug trafficking, tax fraud and money laundering and redirecting them to indiscriminate immigration arrests and even to snoop through the private tax returns of every American. All of this harms both America’s interests and values and is directly harmful to all of us.”

Resources

●     Read about the new America’s Voice “At What Cost” campaign and visit the accompanying website. The campaign illustrates the obsessive focus of Trump and allies’ efforts to separate families, deport established friends and neighbors, and wreak havoc on our economy and other key priorities in their mass deportation focus above all.

Follow Vanessa Cárdenas and America’s Voice on BlueSky: vcardenas.bsky.social and americasvoice.bsky.social and Twitter: @VCardenasDC and @AmericasVoice

America’s Voice – Harnessing the power of American voices and American values to win common sense immigration reform www.americasvoice.org