A new report warned mass deportations of undocumented immigrants in Washington would lead to labor shortages and make many goods and services more expensive. 

Washington is home to 325,000 undocumented immigrants, many of whom work in agriculture, construction, and caregiving.

Kaitie Dong, senior policy analyst at the Washington State Budget and Policy Center and the report’s co-author, said in 2022, undocumented workers paid nearly $1 billion in Washington state and local taxes, while generating nearly $150 billion a year for the state’s gross domestic product. 

“They take care of our children, they’re our grocery store workers, they help build our homes,” Dong outlined. “We cannot operate our day-to-day lives without immigrant workers.” 

Dong pointed out at a time when Washington is facing a huge revenue shortfall, giving undocumented workers legal status would boost the state’s tax revenue by $100 million a year. The Trump administration said it is following through on a campaign pledge to tighten immigration enforcement. 

Many of Washington's undocumented immigrants work in agriculture and the report showed losing just 5% of the workers would severely affect the state’s food production, leading to higher prices. Dong warned deporting undocumented workers would also put U.S.-born employees at risk, since their jobs are interdependent. For example, she noted, migrant farmworkers often report to U.S.-born supervisors. 

“The more immigrant workers that we lawlessly take away from the fields, the less need there is for U.S.-born supervisors to manage their crews,” Dong pointed out. 

Dong cautioned the Trump administration’s deportation policies instill fear in undocumented immigrants, their families, and even U.S. citizens, and lead to lower graduation rates. 

“If a parent is detained and deported, their children oftentimes will drop out of school to help support the family,” Dong emphasized. 

Dong added along with granting legal status, it is in Washington’s best interest financially to uplift undocumented communities by funding programs providing them things like health care and unemployment benefits. 

This story is republished from Public News Service, an independent, member-supported news organization and Certified B Corporation committed to increasing awareness of and engagement with critical public interest issues by reporting and delivering credible journalism and media packages through a network of independent state newswires.