Trump’s mass deportation agenda led to higher prices: immigration group

President Donald Trump‘s mass deportation campaign has caused the costs of groceries, homes and healthcare to rise and local economies to contract, a new report from the pro-immigration advocacy group America’s Voice.

The group deems those added costs the “ICE Tax” — a reference to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement — and on Wednesday released data, first shared with CNBC, putting dollar figures on the ways they say Trump’s policies are hurting the economy.

“Forcibly deporting hundreds of thousands of essential workers means extra dollars at the grocery checkout, the home that costs six figures more to build, the corner store that goes quiet after a raid, the job that disappears when a coworker never comes back to work,” Vanessa Cardenas, executive director of America’s Voice, said in a statement.

“Instead of working to bring costs down and make America more affordable, they’ve chosen a deportation machine that terrorizes our communities, hurts our businesses, and sticks every family with the bill,” Cardenas continued.

The report calls for Congress and the White House to end the “ICE Tax,” a messaging campaign launched three months before the 2026 midterm election, in which cost-of-living and Trump’s immigration policy are both key issues.

In CNBC’s latest edition of the All-America Economic Survey, which polled 1,000 voters in early July, 60% disapproved of Trump’s handling of the economy. Immigration and border security ranked as the third most important issue facing the country right now, according to respondents. 

Trump in his second term has set an aggressive goal of deporting one million individuals annually. ICE last month took more than 46,000 individuals into custody for alleged immigration violations, a monthly record high under Trump, CBS News reported.

ICE has repeatedly come under fire this year for its aggressive tactics and after a series of high-profile killings at the hands of officers that prompted calls from Democrats and activists for reform. But in its latest report, America’s Voice makes an economic case for change within the agency.

The White House and the Department of Homeland Security, which includes ICE, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Wednesday.

America’s Voice analyzed 12 months of federal price data ending in June and found costs are rising fastest for foods whose production relies heavily on immigrant labor. The price of lettuce is up 32.1%; canned fruit has risen 7.9%; and fresh citrus and apples are have spiked 6.3% and 7.1%, respectively. That all came as core inflation, which excludes food and energy, rose 2.6% in the same period.

The report notes there are other factors besides deportations contributing to higher prices, including weather and fuel costs. 

“No single figure proves the case on its own. But category after category, the products and services…