Washington, DC – Below is a column by Maribel Hastings from America’s Voice en Español translated to English from Spanish. It ran in several Spanish-language media outlets earlier this week:
Congress certified Donald Trump’s victory in the November 5, 2024 presidential election, and it was confirmed that the electoral, democratic, and constitutional process continues to function — although, for Trump, that’s only true if he wins. Because if he loses, as he did in 2020, the system is “corrupt” and “fraudulent” and one can even resort to violence, like his minions did exactly four years ago in the violent assault on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Although the certification took place without drama, when Trump is sworn in as the 47th President of the United States, it’s a return to the chaos and conflict that characterize him. On top of that, the battles to impose an extremist agenda, particularly on immigration, will be marked by disinformation and lies.
Last week we already got a little taste of what is to come.
Following the terrorist attack in New Orleans, which claimed the lives of 15 people and wounded many others, Trump, Fox News, and other Republican figures immediately blamed immigrants and the immigration system.
“When I said that the criminals coming in are far worse than the criminals we have in our country, that statement was constantly refuted by Democrats and the Fake News Media, but it turned out to be true,” Trump declared on his platform, Truth Social. Fox News even reported that the attacker had crossed from Mexico days before the attack.
But the attacker, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, who died from police bullets, was a U.S. citizen from Texas, and an Army veteran. Did Trump retract his declarations? Of course not.
And to receive Trump with open arms, the House of Representatives, with a slim Republican majority and support from 48 Democrats, approved H.R. 29, the Laken Riley Act, named for a young woman killed by an undocumented man in Georgia in February 2024. The attacker had been charged with shoplifting but was not detained. The legislation would require federal officials to detain undocumented people who commit crimes of theft and burglary, among other charges, requiring their detention until they are deported.
The measure is questioned by diverse sectors because, despite the horrible crime, immigrants are less likely than citizens to commit crimes. They believe the bill is a mechanism for mass detentions and deportations, including for minor infractions.
The National Immigration Law Center (NILC) wrote, “supporters of the Laken Riley Act call it a public safety measure, but in reality the bill’s provisions would undermine constitutional protections and do nothing to keep us safer.”
On top of continuing to portray the immigration issue as one of “criminality,” there is a lot of uncertainty regarding the language and reach of the various immigration executive orders Trump is anticipated to sign when he takes charge.
It is speculated that he could declare a “national emergency” to close the border or ban the entry of nationals from certain countries, similar to the Muslim ban of the first go-around. Or to limit documented immigration and asylum. He can also activate the Army for immigration duties. Or he can order, for example, that the Social Security Administration not give cards to citizen children whose parents are undocumented, as part of his plan to eliminate birthright citizenship.
Not to mention the generalized fear of raids and mass deportations that he promised. There’s talks of deporting those who are already in jail or detention centers; those whose work permits and protection from deportation, through programs like TPS or humanitarian parole, have expired. Raids are feared in work sites, churches, and shelters, among other locations.
What will happen with the Dreamers, once their work permits and protection from deportation are over, is also under speculation.
Inside Trump’s team there have been differences on some matters, like the debate over H-1B visas for specialized foreign workers. Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, who head up a dark initiative called “government efficiency,” defended the program rejected by Stephen Miller, Trump’s advisor who is now in charge of public policy in the White House, and the architect of the most anti-immigrant policies of the first Trump administration, including family separation at the border.
But outside of that topic, they are all united in their deep disdain and prejudice toward undocumented immigrants who continue to be at the center of Trump’s plans in 2025, when his threats could become reality.
The original Spanish version is here.
