Lost taxes, higher prices: study estimates CT costs of mass deportations
Shahrzad Razekh/CT Mirror
People march to the state Capitol during a rally in support the TRUST Act on March 3, 2025.
A new study estimates the economic impact to Connecticut of the federal government’s mass deportation policy, including a loss of tax revenue and disruptions to the labor market.
The research, from the progressive Connecticut Voices for Children and the Immigration Research Initiative, shows that in 2022, undocumented immigrants paid over $406 million in Connecticut state and municipal taxes.
Of the almost 600,000 immigrants in Connecticut, the research says that 267,000 are non-citizens, and among those an estimated 150,000 are immigrants without documentation.
Undocumented immigrants are at the highest risk of deportation under the Trump administration’s push, but the report also notes that people who have temporary visas may see them terminated or not renewed, and people with temporary protected status, asylum seekers, and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients are also threatened by changes at the federal level.
“It’s important to remember the many ways immigrants enrich our society,” said Emily Byrne, executive director of Connecticut Voices for Children, “especially now with the myriad actions by the federal government seeking to erase their contributions and Congress racing down a path to pass a budget that will force states and localities to shoulder the burden of deep federal funding cuts.”
The study, entitled “The Economic and Fiscal Impacts of Mass Deportation: What’s at Risk in Connecticut,” goes into detail in several industry sectors.
It notes that there are more than 5,000 farms in Connecticut, and nationwide more than half of all crop workers are immigrants.
In the restaurant industry, 35% of the 21,000 cooks in the state are immigrants. There are 11,000 immigrant janitors and cleaners in Connecticut, and another 11,000 maids and housekeepers.
Roughly one in four construction workers in the state are immigrants.
“A loss of large numbers of workers from the Connecticut labor force would mean an increase in the cost of living for Nutmeggers who will pay more for restaurants, child care, home health aides, construction, and more,” the report notes. “Costs will go up not only because immigrants are often underpaid, but more fundamentally because there will be an under-supply of workers.”
It notes that the state’s relatively low unemployment rate of around 3.4% means that the labor market is already constrained.
“The Connecticut people deserve stability and assurances that their quality of life will be intact. Our state is more vibrant because of the presence of immigrants,” said Tabitha Sookdeo, executive director of CT Students for a Dream. “Immigrants contribute to critical public infrastructure. We should not take that for granted.”
The report calls on federal and state leaders to reject mass deportation efforts and instead pursue policies that expand pathways to legal status.
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