EPI in the news

• How much are deportations costing you? A study reveals what each American is paying for Trump’s anti-immigration policies.

  A new study by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), a research center and think tank that regularly collaborates with unions, works with the figure of $268.9 billion, the amount that the Institute for Policy Studies projects the Trump administration plans to spend on deportations during its second term.

  In addition, the EPI offers a new resource, the ‘ deportation cost calculator ‘ which allows users to calculate the amount of money each taxpayer will allocate to Trump’s objectives.

  …

  “The Trump administration’s immigration policy is not only inhumane, but it also represents a massive waste of public resources. Every dollar spent on mass deportations is a dollar not invested in crucial projects like education, healthcare, and affordable housing,” said Heidi Shierholz, president of EPI.

  N+ Univision | August 24, 2026
• Businesses steal billions in employee pay yearly. NYC wants to end wage theft for low-income workers

  Features interview with Heidi Shierholz.

  The Economic Policy Institute estimates that workers lose more than $50 billion a year to wage theft. New York City is cracking down on the crime and other abuses of low-income workers.

  CBS Saturday Morning | August 24, 2026
• Long Island’s top-paid CEO made $17.2M

  “We know that the top 10% have about 50% of overall income,” said Josh Bivens, chief economist for the Economic Policy Institute.

  Newsday | August 24, 2026
• Lane County taxpayers are funding mass deportations. Here’s how much we’re paying.

  Until now, the economic cost of deportations has been hidden. But last week, the University of Oregon Labor Education and Research Center, where I work, released a new online tool in partnership with the Economic Policy Institute letting anyone look up how much taxpayers in their town, county or state are paying for deportations. 

  Anyone who doesn’t believe these numbers is free to look them up on our Cost of Deportations Calculator. All the data is public, how the calculations are made is completely transparent and you can download all the numbers for yourself and come to your own conclusions.

  Look Out Eugene Springfield | August 24, 2026
• Black-owned farms in Oregon are advancing food sovereignty and making it fun

  The change in the tone of the political discourse coincides with statistics across the board showing that Black communities have been disproportionately negatively impacted under the second Trump Administration. For example, Black Oregonians experienced unemployment at rates twice as high as their white counterparts (8.8% compared to 4.4%) in the second quarter of 2026, according to the Economic Policy Institute.

  Street Roots | August 24, 2026
• Trump Official Says US Doesn’t Need as Many Jobs

  “Bessent is certainly right that the U.S. economy isn’t producing many jobs. Hiring is extraordinarily weak—hiring rates are where they were in 2011, in the aftermath of the great recession,” Heidi Shierholz, president of the Economic Policy Institute, told Newsweek. “But the idea that weak job growth is somehow okay economically if it is the result of deportations is deeply wrong.

  “Deporting immigrants does not make U.S.-born workers better off. That is not how the economy works. Deportations don’t just affect those being deported, they ripple through the entire economy.”

  Shierholz said that when there are fewer immigrant roofers and framers, fewer homes are built, meaning less work for U.S.-born electricians and plumbers.

  Newsweek | August 24, 2026
• From Manufactured Homes to Zoning Updates: Tompkins County Panelists Offer Roadmap to Housing Affordability

  Kelles said income inequality is the primary driver of the housing crisis, citing the Economic Policy Institute’s 2024 report that says top earners saw massive income gains since the 1970s — up to 182% for the top 1% — while wages for the bottom 90% grew 44%. This growing wealth gap leaves average workers unable to afford construction-driven housing costs.

  Ithaca Times | August 24, 2026

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