In his latest plea for attention, wispy-haired egomaniac and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump laid out his latest position paper this week: comprehensive immigration reform that would end birthright citizenship and effectively deport every undocumented immigrant in the country.
Trump broke down his plan in an interview on NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday.
"They have to go," he said. "They're having a baby. And all of a sudden, nobody knows... the baby's here."
Aside from being impractical, unconstitutional and incredibly xenophobic, such a mandate would have a tremendously negative effect on Chicago's population. According to a 2014 study from the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, roughly 511,000 undocumented immigrants live in Illinois—183,000 in Chicago alone. That figure accounts for nearly seven percent of the city's population—and doesn't count the number of natural-born citizens with undocumented parents.
Chicago lost more than 200,000 residents between 2000 and 2010, according to the U.S. Census. Analysts ranging from a vice president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago to the Tribune editorial board have pointed out that the city's shrinking population isn't a good sign for its economic health.
Point being, Donald Trump's immigration plan is less viable than the new Coke. Move on with your day.