Nearly 5 million American families may face profound disruption under a proposed 2024 mass deportation program, according to a recent report from the Center for Migration Studies (CMS). The report warns that such a large-scale deportation effort could break up families, causing widespread social and economic consequences. The analysis shows that 5.8 million U.S. households include at least one undocumented resident. Of these, 4.7 million are "mixed-status" households, where U.S. citizens or legal residents live alongside undocumented individuals.
The report, an update to a 2017 study using data from the 2022 American Community Survey, details the significant potential impacts. More than half of the 10.9 million undocumented individuals in the U.S. have lived in the country for at least a decade, establishing deep community ties. Their removal, the authors argue, severely disturb long-established social networks and harm local economies. Nearly 10 million U.S. citizens could experience economic hardship, with the median household income for mixed-status families projected to fall from $75,500 to $39,000—a drop of more than 48%. This sharp decline could drive up poverty rates and place additional strain on public welfare programs.
