Texas Department of Public Safety Lt. Chris Olivarez suggested that mass deportations will save taxpayer money that has funded the border crisis in the billions.
Olivarez is among the law enforcement officials who support President-elect Donald Trump’s plan to deport immigrants with deportation orders and criminal records. Some are still pushing back in promises that they will not follow through with the deportations due to their sanctuary status. On Fox Business’s Mornings with Maria Thursday, Olivarez suggested these states will only lose money they believe they’re saving by not cooperating.
“It is going to be very costly, right, to have this massive deportation operation, but I think if we look back the last four years how much money has been spent on illegal immigration, it’s been in the billions, and that’s on the taxpayer,” Olivarez said, then cited soon-to-be border czar Tom Homan. “Again, as Tom mentioned, in the long run, it will save taxpayer money because now they won’t have to fund the custody and care of illegal immigrants that are in the country right now.”
Olivarez referenced the case of the Guatemalan immigrant who lit a woman on fire on the New York City subway in recent days. Sebastian Zapata, 33, was deported from the U.S. in 2018 before he illegally returned. His attack on a random woman “should have been prevented,” according to Olivarez, and immigrants like him will be on the top of the list to deport.
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“We’re not talking about your everyday person that’s been here for years, that’s trying to make a living for their families, we’re talking about criminals. Criminals that have committed crimes, criminals that have snuck into the country, that have criminal backgrounds, that have been in the jail process, that have already received due process, that’s what we’re talking about,” Olivarez said. “We want to prioritize those threats to public safety.”
Among the estimated 10 million immigrants who illegally entered the U.S. since President Joe Biden took office, 1.3 million of them have outstanding deportation orders.