Washington, DC – The Trump administration continues to expand its ruthless effort to expel immigrants, block refugees, and sow fear within immigrant communities. As our “At What Cost?” campaign highlights, all Americans will bear the cost of Trump and Republicans’ chaotic and cruel immigration agenda, as it tears apart our communities and targets our neighbors. What began as a promise to remove dangerous criminals has now widened into a sweeping net that ensnares hardworking, law-abiding legal residents and community members.
According to Vanessa Cárdenas, Executive Director of America’s Voice:
“The Trump Administration is not going only after hardened criminals, they are inflicting widespread harm on legal and long-settled individuals and families. What we are witnessing is the ruthless, random and chaotic targeting of legal residents and hard-working individuals who have done nothing more than live their lives in a nation they call home. This expanding dragnet is now ensnaring people who contribute to our economy, raise families, and are deeply embedded in our neighborhoods. As more and more stories come to light, Americans are beginning to understand the catastrophic consequences of this attack on our families and communities, and they are increasingly standing in solidarity with those who are unjustly targeted. We must ask ourselves: at what cost are we willing to let this continue?”
Among the many recent cases exposing the Trump administration’s expanding deportation efforts, we see the targeting of hardworking immigrants, long-time residents, and students. These stories show the real impact of this aggressive agenda on our communities:
- The New York Times: “Columbia Student Hunted by ICE Sues to Prevent Deportation” says: “On March 5, Ms. Chung protested outside a Barnard College building where pro-Palestinian student demonstrators were holding a sit-in. She was arrested by police officers, given a desk appearance ticket on the misdemeanor charge of obstructing governmental administration and released. Four days later — and the day after Mr. Khalil was arrested — immigration officials appeared at the home of Ms. Chung’s”
- Newsweek: “Green Card Holder Who Has Been in US for 50 Years Detained by ICE—Niece” says: “Dixon’s lawyer, Benjamin Osorio, told Newsweek in an email on Sunday that “she has a single conviction from 2001 that has triggered the issue.” Osorio said Dixon has a non-violent conviction for embezzlement “for which she received 30 days in a halfway house and a $6,400 fine. She was never ordered to serve any active time in a jail or prison. It was the travel that triggered the issue and if she had not traveled, she would not be removable from the United States.”
- The New Republic: “No One Is Safe From America’s Abusive Immigration Authorities Anymore” says: “It probably never crossed Fabian Schmidt’s mind that he wouldn’t breeze through security at Boston’s Logan Airport. A legal resident of New Hampshire, he flew back to the United States on March 7 after a visit to Luxembourg, but never made it through security. According to his mother, who didn’t get to speak with him until four days later, Schmidt was “violently interrogated” for hours, stripped naked, and forced into a cold shower. Given little food or water, suffering from sleep deprivation, and prevented from taking anxiety and depression medication, he collapsed and was hospitalized (where he learned he also had the flu), she said.”
