Instead of spending more than $268 billion to deport immigrants, Colorado could add nearly 20,000 teachers, 17,000 firefighters and 15,000 nurses to its workforce.

Nationally, it’s enough to cover the cost of medical care for 5 million veterans and a host of other programs, according to a new calculator created by the nonpartisan think tank the Economic Policy Institute.

Ben Zipperer, senior economist at the institute, said the cost of the Trump administration’s mass deportation program could pay for what many American voters see as priorities.

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"Instead of funding mass deportations, we could pay for health insurance for nearly 12 million people or fund nearly 10 million public housing units or have paid parental leave for 6 million parents. Instead, we're demonizing immigrants," Zipperer outlined.

Two years ago, 77 million voters sent Donald Trump back to the White House in large part because of his promises to secure the nation’s borders. Defenders of mass deportation said it opens up more jobs to U.S.-born workers. They also claimed it removes violent criminals, despite data from the Cato Institute showing 93% of people arrested by ICE had no violent criminal convictions.

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Zipperer explained mass deportations have reduced employment opportunities for everyone and increased costs. Unemployment rates for U.S.-born workers are now higher than they were before 2024. He added if you deport immigrant roofers and framers, for example, it delays housing construction and there’s less work for U.S.-born electricians and plumbers.

"The cost of building homes during Trump's presidency has increased almost twice as fast in states that are most reliant on immigrants because that's where construction permits have been falling the most," Zipperer pointed out.

With the biggest cuts to Medicaid under the Republicans’ signature tax and spending law set for next year, the already understaffed caregiving sector is expected to face additional challenges.

Haeyoung Yoon, vice president of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, said at least 30% of workers who care for seniors and people with disabilities are immigrants.

"They are very much part of this group of workers who are providing care for elderly to take a bath, help them go to a doctor's appointment. I think the math is really, really simple. So if there's no immigrant workers means no stable care workforce," Yoon emphasized.