Donald Trump promises to deport millions of unauthorized immigrants once he returns to the White House. If he follows through, the scale of it would be unlike anything we've seen in our lifetimes.

Many supporters of Trump's mass deportation agenda say expelling unauthorized immigrants will help the US economy. But a look back at America's first major immigration crackdown suggests otherwise.

On this episode, host Adrian Ma and his colleagues from NPR's The Indicator podcast look at that immigration crackdown during the 'Chinese Exclusion Era,' and the economic impact it had on the West.

For a deeper dive into the economic history of the Chinese Exclusion Era, check out the latest installments of Planet Money's newsletter. In Part One, NPR's Greg Rosalsky covers the economic circumstances that led to a populist anti-Chinese movement. In Part Two, he explains the ways (both legal and extralegal) that movement succeeded in driving Chinese immigrants away from the U.S. and the economic fallout that ensued.

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The 'Chinese Exclusion Era' shows how Trump's mass deportation plan could unfold

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