Last week I was asked to grocery shop and deliver to a family of four undocumented migrant adults and one child on a dairy farm who ran out of food the day before but were too afraid to go to the store. They knew the reports of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) vehicles seen in a grocery store parking lot with officers questioning shoppers. A friend of mine did the same for three migrant households the day before as fear spread rapidly throughout Addison and Chittenden counties.

As I was returning home from my delivery, a Burlington school teacher sent a text asking for food support for three families who are keeping their children home and were running out of food. A patient stayed home from scheduled tests and doctor appointment in Middlebury. Spanish church services were cancelled after the church was told no one would come.

The Republican administration’s order allowing ICE officers to arrest undocumented immigrants at or near schools, places of worship, health care sites, shelters and relief centers has rapidly resulted in psychological and physical harm for hardworking, decent people who know that a “criminal” offense might be a simple traffic violation. Additionally, the economic effects of this policy will strike at the core of day-to-day life for all Americans very soon.

Let’s look at the research — starting with taxes, a hot button topic in Vermont as we attempt to figure out how to pay for schools.

• 2018: Immigrant-led households in Vermont paid $194.2 million in federal and $88.9 million in state and local taxes. (American Immigration Council).

• 2020: 50 of the largest U.S. corporations paid ZERO federal taxes AND got $12 billion in tax breaks (Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy — ITEP).

• 2022: U.S. undocumented workers paid $96.7 BILLION in federal, state and local taxes. (ITEP)

• One third of migrant tax dollars go to federal programs for which they are not eligible (Social Security, Medicare, unemployment insurance): they support our benefits!

• Annual U.S. tax revenue from migrant labor would increase by $40.2 billion if work visas were provided — currently unavailable to dairy workers. (ITEP).

One false assumption regarding jobs and deportations is that if there were fewer migrant workers, there would be more jobs for Americans and possibly higher wages. Not so says Chloe East, Professor of Economics, UC Denver:

• For every 13 fewer undocumented workers, there are 10 fewer employed American workers; as businesses lose customers, people get fired.

• Migrant workers create jobs by taking jobs American workers avoid, becoming work crews that supervisors/owners can deploy to grow businesses.

• Migrant workers are complimentary to, not a substitute for, American jobs.

Previous deportation attempts led to drastic economic declines in 1920-30, 1964 (ITEP)

• 2011 — Immigration crack down in Georgia resulted in $140 million crop loss

• 2023 — Florida Bill 1718 created new immigration felonies leading to stalled construction projects, fruit rotting in fields, empty rental units, restaurant closures and insufficient cast members for Walt Disney World.

Cost of deportation — it’s not free

• Estimated cost of mass deportation of current 13 million undocumented workers is $315 billion to cover arrests, detention, legal processing and transportation removal. (American Immigration Council)

• Since that plan is not at all feasible, spread out over 10 years equals $88 billion annually, not counting economic decline from loss of 5% of U.S. labor force.

Do the math: the U.S. makes money through the hard work of undocumented workers who strengthen the economy filling jobs Americans shun. We need to find solutions to keep these valuable employees and make the real bottom line the preservation of dignity for all who work and live in the United States.

Patricia Lewis

Migrant outreach volunteer

New Haven.