THE COMING UGLY BLITZ FROM TRUMP
Ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday, leaders from CASA, the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), Make the Road New York, United We Dream Action, and America’s Voice held a press call on what to expect in the first days of his second administration, raise concerns about his extreme nominees, and preview responses to the slew of anti-immigrant executive orders expected on day one. We’re proud to have fought alongside these leaders to counter anti-immigrant actions in the first Trump administration – and proud do so again during the second Trump administration. But our elected leaders at every level must also meet the moment and lay out contrasts to Trump’s ugly vision for our country. However, the process displayed during the Laken Riley Act legislative debate is a troubling first sign of acquiescence to Donald Trump and Stephen Miller, America’s Voice Executive Director Vanessa Cárdenas noted. Given the blizzard of harmful policies on the way, Democratic lawmakers need to describe their vision for immigration and immigrant communities. “Standing up for long-settled immigrants and legal immigration within a controlled and orderly system is good for America, our economy, and our future – and the centerpiece of an alternative political vision that works better than performative complicity,” she said. Read more here.
‘A TROJAN HORSE’: EVEN MORE CRITICISM AGAINST TERRIBLE AND MISGUIDED POLITICS OF ‘LAKEN RILEY ACT’
The Laken Riley Act has cleared the Senate with, unfortunately, the help of a number of Democratic votes. Following passage in that chamber, it would then proceed back to the House for a final vote as early as next week. While backers of the Laken Riley Act, a.k.a. the Ken Paxton Empowerment Act, have sought to frame the legislation as a public safety issue, key media observers, lawmakers, and outside experts have been loudly calling out the dangerous and sweeping nature of the proposal as well as the misguided political assessments undergirding some of its support. “This sweeping bill will upend our immigration system in ways that will outlast Donald Trump’s presidency, ruining lives and handcuffing future Democratic administrations,” warned Michelle Goldberg of The New York Times. “Democrats who vote for it may dodge right-wing attacks in the next election, but once its true scope becomes clear, they’ll be answering for it for years to come.” Over at Slate, Mark Joseph Stern wrote that “under the guise of punishing a small number of lawbreaking undocumented immigrants, the act would curtail legal immigration and subject law-abiding immigrants to detention and deportation. It is baffling that so many Democrats would sign on to such a cruel and constitutionally dubious scheme.” Read more here.
MASS DEPORTATION IS ONE THING IN THEORY, ANOTHER IN PRACTICE
In her weekly column, America’s Voice consultant Maribel Hastings writes that anticipation is building about what immigration executive orders Trump will issue after taking office and whether promises of mass deportation will immediately materialize. Not only does Trump have to grapple with the reality of funding, the lack of infrastructure, and of personnel, but also the possible backlash over ugly images of families being ripped apart and communities terrorized. “Trump’s shameful policy of family separation at the border fell apart after the harrowing sound of children crying, after literally being torn from the arms of their mothers and fathers.” Hastings notes that in California’s agricultural valley, there are reports of local Border Patrol offices already carrying out Trump-like raids. “If food prices rise even more, for the lack of workers and shortages of goods, what will Trump, who also wants to lower food costs, do?” Hastings asks. Some political fallout could force Trump to have to negotiate in Congress, where a slim House GOP majority means that Democrats could wield some influence. “For now, one has to be prepared for the worst and see if Trump’s extremism burdens him more than the economic, humanitarian, and potentially political disaster of mass deportations, because theory is one thing, and practice is another.” Her column was also published in several outlets, including La Opinión, Radio Bilingüe, and La Tribuna Hispana. Read her column in English here and Spanish here.
‘IT WAS PROFILING’: CALIFORNIA RAIDS TARGET FARMWORKERS
In a frightening preview of the incoming administration’s “bloody” mass deportation agenda, Border Patrol agents in unmarked vehicles reportedly carried out ugly, racially profiled raids in Bakersfield, including stalking immigrants outside of stores popular among farmworkers. While CBP claimed that agents were focused on targeting alleged criminals, what happened on the ground told a different story. “It was profiling, it was purely field workers,” said one witness. The raids also ensnared a naturalized U.S. citizen, who reportedly had his tires slashed by agents and was detained for hours. News of the raids reverberated across the region, with one citrus industry leader saying that as many as 75% of workers stayed home following the arrests. During a press briefing on Thursday, United Farm Workers Political/Legislative Director Areli Arteaga said that two of the union’s members were detained and removed to Mexico. Both left behind children under ten years old. “This is the heartbreaking reality of mass deportation threats that have already emboldened individuals to sow devastation in our communities amongst the very hardworking immigrant workers who harvest all our food,” she said. This early example of the “Trump effect” on how the on-the-ground law enforcement interprets the range of their power is a chilling reminder of what we witnessed under the first Trump administration – and what could be the start of something worse as soon as next week. Read more here.
AGENTS OF MASS DEPORTATION
The Senate is currently holding confirmation hearings for a number of the nominees tasked with executing Trump’s “bloody” mass deportation vision. Tragically for our nation, they seem ready to support the worst impulses of the incoming administration, such as mass family separation, gutting legal immigration, and promoting deadly conspiracy theories in order to falsely portray immigrants as a threat. Ahead of these critical confirmation votes, click here and share our TikTok on their extreme positions on immigration and beyond.
LOOK FOR THE HELPERS
NPR reports that as neighborhoods in the L.A. metropolitan area faced destruction due to a series of historic wildfires, immigrants gathered buckets and hoses to help try to stop the devastation from spreading. Housekeeper Maria Garcia, who is undocumented, said she doesn’t even live in the neighborhood where an NPR reporter took a picture of her hosing down rubble. She was just thinking about what was happening and felt like she had to do something. “You don’t need to have legal papers or be a U.S. citizen to help others,” Juan Carlos Pascual Tolentino, another immigrant helper, told NPR. “When you support someone, you strengthen your union with them. When you stop and ask if they could use a hand, they’ll remember that.” In other parts of L.A., immigrants are also helping clear downed trees and marshal support for community members in need, Capital & Main reports. These efforts are inspiring – and not at all surprising. We know from past disasters that immigrants have been critical to recovery efforts, and this will certainly be true in California, where more than 43% of construction workers are foreign-born. “Immigrants will be the ones bringing Los Angeles back from the ashes. Without them, the city will struggle to recover,” León Krauze writes at The Washington Post. “As Trump takes power, vowing to implement punitive immigration policies to vigorously go after the undocumented, it is crucial to acknowledge who truly builds America.” Read more here.
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