Why Trump Won’t—and Can’t—Deport 18 Million Illegal Aliens

EDITOR'S NOTES

Let’s get one thing straight—this isn’t about partisan politics. This is about cold, hard economic reality. The fantasy that any administration—red tie or blue—will deport 18 million illegal immigrants is a myth sold to you for votes, not results. Trump’s chest-thumping about mass deportations hits the same wall that every centralized plan does: economic constraints, bureaucratic incompetence, and the raw limits of coercive state power. If you think an all-out police state rounding up dishwashers and drywallers is freedom, you’ve already lost the plot.

Derek Wolfe Jun 16, 25

Reality Check: Mass Deportation Is a Pipe Dream

The Trump administration has ramped up raids and saber-rattling, but let’s cut through the fog—this won’t come close to removing even a quarter of the estimated 18 million illegal aliens currently in the U.S. Not because the feds lack the will, but because the system itself chokes on its own red tape.

Even if they doubled the current pace, they'd barely match Bush-era numbers, let alone Obama’s 2013 peak of 430,000 deportations. At best, we're looking at around 4 million deportations over the next term—a figure that barely scratches the surface and certainly doesn’t match MAGA slogans.

The Dirty Secret: Government Is Bad at This

ICE agents aren't known for their hustle. When border crossings fall, the “low-hanging fruit” dries up. That forces agents to do real work—dig into neighborhoods, businesses, private homes. Government employees doing actual legwork? Don’t bet your paycheck on it.

Sanctuary cities further cripple coordination. That means more bureaucratic friction, more political backlash, and fewer deportations. When it comes to targeting peaceful, working residents, even Trump’s base starts feeling squeamish. Nobody wants their neighborhood turned into a militarized zone.

Economics Trumps Ideology

Here’s the libertarian kicker: aggressive deportation interferes with the free market. Cracking down on employers and landlords who engage in voluntary contracts with undocumented immigrants is nothing but state overreach.

You want less illegal immigration? Fine—cut off the taxpayer-funded handouts. No welfare, no public school access, no HUD loans, no driver's licenses. You want to live here? You better produce. If that makes America less attractive to freeloaders, good. But don’t send federal agents stomping into the workplace to fine some rancher who just needs help baling hay.

This isn't about crime—violent illegals should be dealt with swiftly. But most of the deportation dragnet targets peaceful, productive people who’ve been here for years. That’s not immigration control; that’s economic sabotage.

Trump’s Pivot: Farmers First, Janitors Later

Even Trump seems to realize this. In a Truth Social post, he admitted his policies are hurting farmers and hoteliers who can’t replace long-time workers. He knows that if he pushes too hard on workplace raids, he’ll alienate the very business community that props up his platform.

He’s not wrong. The moment you start punishing free enterprise for hiring “the wrong people,” you're just another statist regulating who can work and who can't. That’s not border security. That’s socialism in camouflage.

Self-Deportation: The Only Rational Path

If you want real results, make the U.S. unappealing to anyone looking for a free lunch. Remove public benefits, block access to citizenship, and let the chips fall where they may. The ones who stay? They’ll be the self-reliant, taxpaying kind—exactly the kind of immigrants who helped build this country before the welfare state bloated into a beast.

Mass deportation, on the other hand, demands a surveillance state that spies, detains, and regulates like something out of East Germany. It’s not just logistically impossible—it’s philosophically un-American.

Let’s not pretend that endless checkpoints and paper demands for “your papers, please” align with the ideals of liberty. A government powerful enough to deport 18 million people is powerful enough to crush you next.

Final Warning:

The lesson here? Never trust politicians who promise to use state power as a panacea. The real solution isn’t more jackboots—it’s fewer freebies. Want to fix immigration? Start by gutting the welfare state and watching who sticks around.

Want to actually protect yourself from the chaos ahead?
👉 Download “Seven Steps to Protect Yourself from Bank Failure” by Bill Brocius
Because the next collapse won’t come from where you think—it’ll come from the ground shaking under your feet while the feds are too busy raiding taco trucks.