Featured Issue: Immigration Enforcement Under Trump 2.0

In his bid for a second presidential term, President Trump pledged to conduct mass deportations, characterizing his targets as dangerous criminals. Since taking office, the Administration has ramped up immigration enforcement efforts, with a reported goal of arresting 3,000 people every day. Contrary to the Administration’s characterization of those arrested as “the worst of the worst criminals,” only 7% of people caught up in this indiscriminate enforcement have been convicted of a violent crime, and 65% have never been convicted of any crime. These practices do not improve safety, and in fact undermine it by directing law enforcement efforts away from dangerous, violent crimes. In some cases, ICE has arrested U.S. citizens during worksite enforcements and other mass arrests. Additionally, the Administration is intentionally and prematurely terminating statutorily authorized legal pathways, such as humanitarian parole and temporary protected status, creating a larger undocumented population and targets for its deportation machine.

The Administration’s enforcement goals now have outsized influence over USCIS and EOIR, two agencies with missions to promote fairness and integrity in immigration proceedings. ICE targets people who are following the legal process and may be eligible for immigration benefits, including those who show up for hearings and appointments at immigration courts, USCIS offices and support centers, and ICE check-ins. To facilitate these arrests, the Administration is ordering judges and immigration officers to dismiss cases so that ICE agents can immediately place individuals in expedited removal proceedings, bypassing due process protections and violating federal law. Rather than encouraging individuals to seek lawful immigration status, the Administration’s overzealous enforcement efforts are instilling fear in those seeking to follow our laws to regularize their status.

The impact of the sweeping deportations reaches far beyond the individuals who are arrested. Deporting long-time residents and workers separates families who have deep community roots and disrupts both local and national economies. Mass deportation hurts our communities and our country as a whole.

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