Read America’s Voice’s “End the ICE Tax” Report
Washington, D.C. – Yesterday, Congressional Hispanic Caucus members joined America’s Voice and immigration advocates at a Capitol Hill press conference to break down the mounting economic toll of the Trump administration’s mass deportation agenda. Speakers highlighted America’s Voice’s “End the ICE Tax” campaign and report, which documents how the administration’s anti-immigrant enforcement push is driving up costs for families nationwide – emptying storefronts, slowing construction, and straining the small businesses and communities that rely on immigrant workers and consumers.
“This is the ICE Tax. It’s not a line item anyone voted on, but it’s real, and it shows up everywhere,” said Vanessa Cárdenas, Executive Director of America’s Voice. “When this administration chooses mass deportation over people’s wallets, families pay the price. This is not what we signed up for. It’s time to end mass deportations and end the ICE Tax.”
“ICE is not just busting the budget, it’s wrecking our economy,” said CHC Chairman Adriano Espaillat (D-NY). “When food prices go up because farm workers go missing, that’s the ICE Tax. When construction grinds to a halt because no one is left to build homes, that’s the ICE Tax. When our elders can’t get the care they deserve because their caretakers and nurses are gone, that’s the ICE Tax. Americans have lost their patience with the ICE Tax.”
The event comes as new Fox News polling shows 53% of voters – and 60% of Hispanic voters – say enforcement has gone too far, with Trump’s immigration approval dropping to 43%.
AFP: “Hispanics feel betrayed on immigration, Republican warns Trump”:
At a Capitol Hill news conference with immigration advocacy group America’s Voice, lawmakers blamed US Immigration and Customs Enforcement for rising costs associated with labor shortages — assailing what they called the “ICE tax.”
“ICE is an affordability issue. Everyone in this country is paying the ICE tax,” caucus chairman Adriano Espaillat said, arguing that removing workers was pushing up the costs of food, construction and health care.
House Democrat Joaquin Castro of Texas said immigration raids were removing workers from industries including agriculture, construction and restaurants.
“ICE is killing the American economy,” Castro said, pointing to businesses struggling to find workers and consumers paying higher prices.
California Democrat Gil Cisneros said labor shortages in his state had caused more than $3 billion in crop losses and driven produce prices higher.
Trump campaigned on carrying out the largest deportation operation in US history and has sharply expanded arrests since returning to office.
Read more about the press conference in Spanish here.
