- Mass deportations could cost taxpayers two thousand dollars each through the fiscal year twenty twenty-nine.
- The Economic Policy Institute estimates a total federal bill of two hundred sixty-eight point nine billion dollars.
- Economic consequences include a two hundred thirty-seven billion dollar reduction in the United States gross domestic product.
The Economic Policy Institute has calculated that President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign could cost the average U.S. taxpayer $2,358, based on a projected federal bill of $268.9 billion through fiscal year 2029.
The estimate comes from EPI’s Cost of Deportations Calculator, released August 5, 2026. The tool assigns the national cost to federal tax filers, including joint filers, who owe federal income tax after credits.
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The figure is an average, not a new charge on an individual tax return. EPI divides the projected spending according to each area’s share of federal income taxes paid.
The calculator puts the total at $268,999,966,016. That is the price EPI attributes to immigration enforcement, detention and removals during the second Trump administration.
The administration has set an annual deportation target of approximately 1 million people. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has also said that 2.2 million people have “voluntarily self-deported” since January 2025, largely through incentivized programs.
The calculator turns a national estimate into local costs
EPI’s tool allows users to view the projected burden by state, county, place and congressional district. Washington, D.C., has the highest listed cost, at $3,900 per taxpayer.
The calculation uses federal income-tax payments as the allocation method. EPI defines “taxpayers” as tax filers who owe federal income tax after credits, including people filing jointly.
The institute also presents the spending as a tradeoff. Its calculator says the federal government is “taking billions of taxpayer dollars to pay for mass deportations,” while allowing users to view what the money could fund instead.
Heidi Shierholz, EPI’s president, said the tool was designed to connect federal spending with household finances.
“Affordability is truly about, 'Does an individual have enough money to buy the things they want?'. The [EPI] calculator helps you see the tradeoff and what that money could have funded instead.”
The estimate covers several years.
| Measure | EPI estimate or reported figure |
|---|---|
| Average cost per U.S. taxpayer | $2,358 |
| Total projected federal cost | $268.9 billion |
| Exact total listed in the analysis | $268,999,966,016 |
| Period covered | Fiscal years 2025 through 2029 |
| Washington, D.C., cost per taxpayer | $3,900 |
Two laws account for most of the projected funding
The analysis attributes much of the funding to H.R. 1, the 119th Congress measure officially titled the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” and the “Secure America Act,” Public Law 119-98.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act accounts for $175.5 billion in the breakdown. The Secure America Act accounts for $52.5 billion.
Congress approved supplemental funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection in July 2026. That approval brought the reported five-year commitment to more than $268 billion.
The National Priorities Project said additional costs are being covered by repurposing Department of Defense funds for National Guard deployments and deportation flights. Those expenses add to the broader federal enforcement effort reflected in the estimate.
The calculator’s release came as the administration expanded workplace enforcement and detention capacity. Early in 2026, it expanded “Alligator Alcatraz”-style facilities to other states, including Texas and Arizona.
The administration defends the spending as enforcement
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson rejected criticism of the projected cost in a statement dated August 5, 2026.
“It’s ridiculous that investments to enforce the law are making headlines while the devastating consequences of breaking it went completely ignored under the Biden administration. Deportations are absolutely vital to stop the bleeding.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt described the administration’s objective in a January 29, 2025, statement.
“President Trump is back, and the golden age of America has most definitely begun. he is focused on launching the largest mass deportation operation in American history of illegal criminals.”
Leavitt later described the Florida detention site known as “Alligator Alcatraz” in remarks on June 30, 2025.
“It is isolated and surrounded by dangerous wildlife and unforgiving terrain. The only way out is a one-way flight.”
The officially designated Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport detention center sits in the Florida Everglades and houses up to 5,000 detainees in high-security, isolated conditions.
Voluntary departures carry their own federal payments
The administration has paired arrests and removals with programs intended to encourage people to leave the United States voluntarily.
Project Homecoming was established through Presidential Proclamation 10935 on May 9, 2025. It offers a $2,600 stipend and a free flight home through the CBP Home app.
The stipend rose from $1,000 in 2025. Noem described the payment as an incentive in a January 21, 2026, statement.
“The U.S. taxpayer is generously increasing the incentive to leave voluntarily. offering a $2,600 exit bonus. if they don’t [take it], we will find them, we will arrest them, and they will never return.”
Noem has reported that 2.2 million people voluntarily self-deported since January 2025. The reported figure includes departures linked largely to incentivized programs.
The administration’s broader goal remains approximately 1 million deportations each year. That target would shape future detention, transportation and removal spending beyond the programs already listed in the calculator.
Researchers point to costs beyond the federal budget
The analysis also describes economic effects from removing undocumented workers. Economists cited in the research have linked the mass removal of that workforce to a $237 billion reduction in U.S. GDP, along with labor shortages in blue-collar sectors and higher input costs.
The consequences may also reach schools. Hilary Wething, an EPI researcher, said in June 2026 that enforcement affects children connected to immigrant communities.
“Immigration enforcement won’t just hurt immigrants—it will follow their classmates into public schools too.”
The calculator focuses on federal spending and distributes that projected cost geographically. Its local figures therefore reflect each area’s share of federal income taxes paid, rather than a separate bill issued by a state, county or congressional district.
EPI released the interactive tool on August 5, 2026. The projected spending window runs through fiscal year 2029, while the administration’s enforcement expansion and voluntary-departure programs continue during 2026.
