HOUSTON – With continued crackdowns on immigrants across the United States, community leaders in Houston are expected to speak out on the mass deportations.
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At 10 a.m. Houston’s League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) and community residents will join to speak out on the fear some migrants have been feeling.
This all comes on the heels of President Donald Trump’s executive orders ending several Biden-era programs for immigrants. One program specifically allowed Nicaraguan, Cuban, Haitian, and Venezuelan immigrants a chance to remain in the United States for two years under parole supervision as long as they had a sponsor in the US and passed security screening.
In a news release, LULAC argues these mass separation efforts are human rights violations, and deeply hurt taxpayer’s pockets.
“Economically, the mass deportation plan poses significant risks,” LULAC said in a press statement. Undocumented immigrants contribute substantially to the U.S. economy, mainly through payroll taxes. In 2022, they contributed $25.7 billion to Social Security and $6.4 billion to Medicare despite being ineligible for these benefits. Removing these workers could reduce the annual cash flow to Social Security by $20 billion, exacerbating the system’s financial challenges. Moreover, sectors such as healthcare and eldercare, which rely heavily on immigrant labor, may face labor shortages, leading to increased costs and limited availability of services.”