Key facts
- Elderly Americans may see an average annual reduction of $2,152 in Social Security benefits by 2034 due to Trump administration immigration policies.
- The projected reduction represents an 8.6% decrease in retirement payments.
- The report attributes the economic fallout to an exodus of 1.2 million foreign-born workers.
- Food prices for items like milk, canned vegetables, and apples have risen more sharply since Trump's return to office.
- The construction industry has seen a 10.9% cost increase for new single-family homes in dependent regions.
- Housing permits for single-family homes have dropped 10.6% nationwide.
Elderly Americans could see their annual Social Security benefits reduced by an average of $2,152, or 8.6%, by 2034 and every year thereafter, as a direct consequence of the economic fallout from the Trump administration’s anti-immigration campaign, according to a new report. The report, commissioned by America's Voice and conducted by Economic Insights and Research Consulting, suggests that recent federal policies revoking immigrants’ legal protections or targeting them for enforcement have negatively impacted the nation’s affordability crisis and job market. One of the report's authors, Michael Ettlinger, stated that the administration's assertions are not always data-driven and that their findings refute the US president's claims. Vanessa Cárdenas, executive director of America's Voice, noted that the impacts of these policies are expected to be long-lasting. The report highlights that an estimated 1.2 million foreign-born workers have left the US due to these policies over the last two years. In the agricultural sector, where a significant portion of the workforce is foreign-born, farmers are reporting the disappearance of their labor force, leading to produce waste. Food products reliant on immigrant labor, such as fresh whole milk, canned vegetables, and apples, have seen price increases exceeding the average grocery price inflation since Trump's return to office. The construction industry has also been severely affected, with foreign-born workers filling nearly a third of occupations. States more dependent on immigrant labor have experienced a 10.9% cost increase for new single-family homes in 2026 compared to the first eight months of 2024. Nationwide, housing permits for single-family homes have dropped 10.6% since January 2025, with steeper declines in regions relying heavily on foreign-born workers. This has also led to native-born Americans missing out on potential jobs in sectors like construction. Industries such as healthcare, home health care, nursing homes, and landscaping are also facing soaring costs and severe labor shortages due to a disproportionate reliance on immigrant workers. The report estimates that between 51,000 and 297,000 jobs were lost by native-born workers by September 2025 due to changes in US immigration policy. The labor force shrunk by an estimated 919,000 people during the 18 months of Trump’s second term, and job growth has slowed significantly. Furthermore, the federal government risks losing substantial payroll taxes from unauthorized immigrants who contribute to the US social security fund. Social security trustees, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, have warned that lower net immigration than anticipated threatens the retirement benefits system's finances, potentially leading to benefit cuts for Americans.