BOTH SIDES, EXPLAINED · IMMIGRATION
Immigration: both sides, explained
THE FACTSBorder encounters in fiscal 2025 were 237,538, the lowest since 1970. The administration has set a goal of 1 million removals a year. Pew finds 62% of Americans favor a strong military presence at the border, while 66% oppose suspending all asylum applications and 72% say checking someone’s status by appearance or language is unacceptable.
LEFT
Costly, cruel and bad for the economy
The American Immigration Council estimates removing 1 million people a year would cost at least $88 billion a year, and deporting 4% of the workforce would shrink GDP by 4.2–6.8%. Undocumented immigrants paid $46.8 billion in federal taxes, and about 8.5 million U.S. citizens live in mixed-status families.
Source: American Immigration Council ↗Not rated by AllSides
RIGHT
Enforce the law voters chose
Heritage argues voters backed “the largest deportation operation in American history,” and that enforcement protects American workers and wages, deters fraud and keeps the border closed.
Source: The Heritage Foundation ↗Not rated by AllSides
Where they agree
Most Americans want a secure border, and most also reject the harshest tactics. The fight is over where to draw that line.
Data: Pew Research CenterPrimary source
More debates: Both sides, explained · This week’s US edition
