Wyoming's price tag for mass deportations: $531 million

Public News Service | By Eric Galatas

Published November 9, 2026 at 2:25 PM MST

New data from the CATO Institute showed 93% of people arrested by ICE had no violent criminal convictions. (Adobe Stock)

Instead of spending more than $531 million to deport immigrants, Wyoming's share of the Trump administration's mass deportation campaign would be enough to add nearly 2,100 teachers, 2,300 firefighters and 1,600 nurses to its workforce, according to a new calculator created by the nonpartisan think tank the Economic Policy Institute.

Ben Zipperer, senior economist at the institute, said the national price tag, $268 billion, is enough to cover the cost of medical care for 5 million veterans and a host of other programs many American voters see as priorities.

"Instead of funding mass deportations, we could pay for health insurance for nearly 12 million people or fund nearly 10 million public housing units or have paid parental leave for six million parents. Instead, we're demonizing immigrants," Zipperer pointed out.

Two years ago, 77 million voters sent Donald Trump back to the White House, in large part because he promised to secure the nation’s borders. Defenders of mass deportation said it opens up more jobs to U.S.-born workers. They also claim it removes violent criminals, despite data from the Cato Institute showing 93% of people arrested by ICE had no violent criminal convictions.

Zipperer argued mass deportations have reduced employment opportunities for everyone and increased costs. Unemployment rates for U.S.-born workers are now higher than they were before 2024. He added if you deport immigrant roofers and framers, for example, it delays housing construction and there is less work for U.S.-born electricians and plumbers.

"The cost of building homes during Trump's presidency has increased almost twice as fast in states that are most reliant on immigrants, because that's where construction permits have been falling the most," Zipperer noted.

With the biggest Medicaid cuts under the Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act set for next year, the already understaffed caregiving sector is expected to face additional challenges.

Haeyoung Yoon, vice president of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, said at least 30% of workers who care for seniors and people with disabilities are immigrants.

"They are very much part of this group of workers who are providing care for elderly to take a bath, help them go to a doctor's appointment. I think the math is really, really simple," Yoon contended. "No immigrant workers means no stable care workforce."