Mobile Billboard Campaign Highlighting Cost of Mass Deportations for Minnesota Taxpayers

The Minnesota AFL-CIO’s mobile billboard campaign drove through St. Paul to warn residents how working people across the state could foot the bill for President Trump’s mass deportation plan. A new calculator from the Economic Policy Institute estimates that Minnesota taxpayers could pay over $4.4 billion, or $2,050 per taxpayer, to fund ICE operations for the rest of Trump’s term.

“Minnesotans have been through hell and back this year. Working families across the state struggle to pay for groceries, rent, electricity, and gas for their car, while President Trump and federal elected officials are helping the country’s wealthiest make their next billion,” said Minnesota AFL-CIO President Bernie Burnham. “This billboard highlights how increased ICE presence financially impacts every taxpayer’s budget. Advocates are holding Trump and federal leaders accountable for putting the costs of mass deportations on working people, especially after Operation Metro Surge separated families and incited fear and violence in our state.”

Rather than spending $4.4 billion in taxpayer dollars on mass deportation, federal officials could fund over 130,101 Medicaid recipients, or 14,963 public school teachers, over 105,139 Head Start slots, 2,278,050 SNAP recipients, or over 82,000 veterans’ medical care. Prioritizing federal funding for ICE operations comes as Trump’s budget law cut nearly $1 trillion from Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, and SNAP to benefit large corporations and the ultra-wealthy. 

This October, Minnesota AFL-CIO has been highlighting what working families in the state could stand to lose when the federal administration uses taxpayer money to fund these unpopular mass deportations, rather than public education and essential services that keep people fed, healthy, and safe. Advocates held press events in Rochester and Mankato, and will continue to speak out against Trump’s harmful immigration policies.