Newly re-elected President Trump has a long history of advocating for strict border control and immigration policies, and has utilized his new presidential power to create a multitude of related executive orders. With Arizona’s location on the Mexican-American border, residents have had varying opinions on the measures that should be taken. In his Inaugural Address on Jan. 20, Trump promised his administration would “begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came”, states The White House transcription. He was met with cheers and applause; the topic of the border and illegal immigrants have been at the front of many Americans minds.
Within the timeframe of a week, President Trump has enacted orders to conduct mass deportations and raids of illegal immigrants by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). His executive orders cancel the Biden administration’s orders to keep ICE away from “protected areas”, like schools, hospitals, playgrounds, places of worship, emergency relief sites, and more, according to the original release from Homeland Security in 2021. A recent statement from a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson detailed that these new policies would mean “criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest”. Trump’s orders also rescind any parole programs that contrast his executive orders, namely the humanitarian sponsor parole program for refugee Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans. Even sanctuary cities, which are “where local law enforcement is prohibited from assisting federal immigration officials”, will be targeted. The arrests will include immigrants without a criminal record as well, according to NPR. The rapid influx of these policies are especially concerning to school districts local to Arizona who have immigrant staff and families. Many school districts are actively working to reassure families that may be affected by these orders and protect their students from the raids, like Phoenix Union High School District and Tempe Union High School District who have sent letters to their students and families, reports ABC15. Migrants who entered illegally are not the only ones seeing the after effects in their communities, immigrants who are Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients, those who are in the process of receiving a green card, families of immigrants, and more.
The White House details the rest of the executive orders, including the utilization of the military in these immigration plans, continued building of his infamous border walls, ending funding for refugee support centers, stopping the process of refugee applications and admissions, and intensifying the current screening processes for immigrants through what is known as the ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy. Migrants who have committed crimes are being specifically targeted, according to the White House website, with those who’ve committed capital crimes potentially facing the death penalty, under Trump’s new orders. To the shock of American citizens and many news outlets like NPR, the new President made an executive order, listed on the White House website, attempting to end birthright citizenship, which has been blocked on numerous legal levels, due to its unconstitutional nature.
The concern of racial profiling is becoming more present in the immigration raids, as legal US citizens and Native Americans are being detained by ICE, according to NBC. In the recent ICE raids, at least 15 Native Americans in New Mexico and Arizona were arrested and questioned, despite being born US citizens, leading the Navajo Nation President and Council members to speak out and advise Native Americans to carry identification and stay safe. A woman interviewed by CNN reported that along with other individuals, she was detained and questioned for two hours without access to cell phones or a method of communication to their families. This surge of raids brings the re-emergence of the phrase “No one is illegal on stolen land”, used by Indigenous activists to communicate that their land was stolen from them by English colonizers and immigrants, who are facing immigrants doing the same as them. There has been a reactive response on social media to Trump’s ICE raids, with local groups banding together to provide resources to report ICE, while others, like an ASU student group with white supremacist ties, are organizing events to report suspected illegal peers to ICE, reports AZCentral. Americans, especially residents of the border states, are reacting to the new President’s immigration policies, with both heavy criticism and praise from citizens. President Trump’s promises of a crackdown on immigration are proving to be true as he makes use of his power and presents a likely future of harsh border control.
