In light of the recent "mass deportation" stuff going around in the news and the talk of illegals losing their jobs, I'd like to talk about how I think this could potentially shake out for the average American. I'm no economic expert here, so if I say something wrong, please correct me.
Illegal immigrant labor has kept wages down in many critical grunt work jobs. So low that your average american can't work them because they wouldn't be able to afford the cost of living with taxes and whatnot. Picking crops, warehouse work, logistics, etc. So when the illegals are no longer available, what happens? Those companies and businesses either go under because they refuse to hire people at a high enough wage to get people to apply OR they raise their wages. If they raise their wages, they're going to raise the price of their goods. If they raise the price of their goods, then wages ALL OVER america, not just in those jobs, will have to increase to compensate for increased cost of living, which will continue the cycle. Inflation is so much worse than anyone realizes because prices and wages have been kept down with illegal immigration. We could see wages and prices continually increasing in competition with each other until we reach equilibrium for our current inflation level, and at that point the average american could be making mid-six figures and milk could cost $30 a gallon. Nobody really knows how bad things really are. If the Trump administration pulls this off (they don't have to deport everyone or regulate away illegal labor, just enough to make people irrationally afraid), we'll finally see just how bad inflation REALLY is behind the curtain.