Whether you love it or hate it, Trump has won the title of 47th president of the United States. At the dawn of 2025, he will once again be our nation’s leader. It should come as no surprise by now that the most pivotal piece of policy that won him the election is his stance on the border crisis, a long-term issue that has had countless government officials scratching their heads over the best practice for resolution.

Trump has been quite vocal about his iron fist mentality regarding the border, threatening to deport millions of illegal immigrants in what he refers to as the most considerable effort to do so in American history. This is a fast and hard plan that will give many Americans precisely what they wanted: a strong country put back in the hands of its own citizens.

But this plan is not as simple as kicking immigrants to the curb and waving goodbye as they shamefully get sent back to their place of origin. There will be astronomical costs to this aggressive approach, which is something that has seemingly slipped the mind of Americans who simultaneously have dreams of enjoying a booming economy in a post-pandemic society.

The entire immigration process is a hot-button ticket of controversy but one that is not aptly studied. There are many steps to deporting a human being: There is the initial confrontation, the detainment, the court hearing, and the transportation back if judges find deportation favorable. Each of these steps costs money, and that money has nowhere to come from other than American tax dollars.

Much like the United States prison system, illegal immigrants must be detained once arrested. With an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants, according to CNN, this would require a massive uptick in the need for detention centers. However, the need for funding doesn’t just end in building these infrastructures.

Jason Houser, a former ICE chief of staff, states for Catherine E. Soichet of CNN, “It’s not just about throwing up a tent. I have to staff it. I have to put security there, I have to put doctors there, I have to put sanitation there, I have to put medics there, I have to put childcare there.”

This is adding up to a lot of money going in many different directions, something which many Americans did not plan for. However, as mentioned previously, the idea of “sending them back to their country” is not as simple as it sounds. Just because someone is not a citizen does not mean that they have zero rights.

This is the entire reason behind the necessity for increased funding for detainment centers: to house these immigrants as they await trial. These trials can be lengthy; they may last several years before their conclusion, which racks up the money meter for even longer.

Soichet’s article also iterates that it is estimated that immigrants pay approximately 96.7 billion dollars in taxes annually. Many Americans argue that the risk outweighs the reward when it comes to immigrants and the taxes they pay, but this is something to think twice about.

Cutting out such an expansive number of illegal immigrants would dispel many of those who participate in the low-skill labor jobs that other people find less desirable. Instead of investing that money back into the pockets of American citizens, companies and business owners will only invest in ways to replace the unskilled labor that they have lost. No one wins in this situation.

According to Julia Ingram of CBS News, the deportation of just one million illegal immigrants “could cost taxpayers 20 billion dollars.” That’s only one million: ten million to go. Not to mention, the roundup and detainment of this insurmountable quantity of people will simply add to the backlog of immigration court cases that the country has already sat on since Trump’s first term. This means adding new debt onto old debt.

Ingram also adds the statistic that Trump only managed to deport “325,660” people during his 2016 presidential term. To think that this country can sustain foot traffic in the millions at the border is a lofty goal, but it is unfeasible in four years. If he wasn’t able to achieve it last time, it is unlikely that he will be able to do so in his second term.

There are also more than fiscal costs associated with this plan. The most concerning costs are those of a humanitarian type. According to Ingram for CBS, “4.4 U.S.-born children live with an undocumented parent.” This undoubtedly will leave many children without at least one parental figure, potentially causing psychological damage throughout their lives.

These are not the criminals everyone is terrified of having infiltrated our country. These are everyday people who are trying to start fresh and live a quiet life without making too much of a stir. Let’s not let a few bad seeds cloud our judgment of innocent families trying to do their best in this world.

A strong border is an idealization that we can all get behind. But what is the most efficient way to get there? Bombarding hard-working Americans who are already struggling with an exponential increase in taxes may not end up being such a popular way to go if the deportation of millions can even be achieved.

It is also a matter of whether we can live with ourselves, separating families who are simply trying to cling to an American dream of which we boast loud and proud. That is the ultimate cost as a fellow neighbor and a fellow human.