Trump’s Brutal Immigration Policies

Dianne Feeley

MOST AMERICANS SUPPORT the idea that immigrants have enriched the United States, but are under the assumption that there is an “orderly” immigration process. They tend to believe that it is unfair that some have supposedly jumped the mythical queue.

The reality is that as long as the country has had immigration policies, they were designed to discriminate. The first, the Chinese Exclusion Act (1882), barred Chinese workers for a decade and denied citizenship to those already here.

The last update Congress has managed to pass is the Laken Riley Act, which was a law enacted in the wake of a brutal murder by an immigrant. Based on this case, the far right got bipartisan support to pass the law, which requires mandatory detention for immigrants, including minors, accused of even low-level crimes such as shoplifting. Further, it allows state attorney generals standing to sue the federal government for immigration policies they decide are harmful.

Vicious politics around immigration is not only an American issue, but since the economic crisis of 2008-09, consumes countries throughout the Global North. Here at home, Trump enflames the electorate by calling immigrants “terrorists” and “rapists” who come from “shithole countries.”

His solution? Halt the “invasion” by walling the country off and deporting all these “criminals.” He has signed a series of Executive Orders to carry out his plan.

Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff for policy, has worked closely with Trump to set the goal of deporting one million immigrants a year. He has recently demanded that arrests and deportations average 3,000 a day.

At the end of the Trump’s first 100 days, the administration claimed to have deported 140,000; experts believe the true figure was half that amount. Tricia McLaughlin, Assistant Secretary for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)*, stated at a press conference on July 10 that DHS had deported 253,000 but that seems unlikely too.

In June the administration claimed 100,000 arrests, moving from the 660 daily arrests during the first 100 days to 2,000 a day. It is not clear they are claiming that high water mark as the new average.

In comparison, Obama, who earned the designation of “deporter-in-chief,” carried out 3.1 million deportations over his eight years in office. The peak year was 2012, with an average of 34,000 deportations a month for a yearly total of 407,000. During the last year of the Biden administration, 271,484 non-citizens with final orders of removal were deported to 192 countries.

Under Trump’s virtual sealing of the southern border, fewer than 5,000 immigrants are crossing each month. Even if all are expelled, that is less than 160 a day.

This means that to achieve the administration goal, federal officials must deport those already living and working here. While some may have arrived within the last couple of years, others are longtime residents who have roots: neighbors, coworkers, and families.

In fact, almost four million have pending asylum applications and are awaiting a court date. Determined to be at “low risk,” they have the right to live and work here until their cases are settled.

While the total number of immigration judges is capped at 700, the administration has let 65 of the 600 current judges go. Obviously solving this backlog is not a priority. Even though a majority of asylum cases are rejected, a 44% approval rating must be too high a bar for Stephen Miller.

ICE agents now patrol the hallways of immigration courts, arresting those whose cases are dismissed. In the past, those who initially lost their case could appeal; now they are far more likely to be arrested and sent to a detention facility.

How the Immigration System Works

The 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act, and the subsequent Immigration Act of 1990, regulate immigration based on various categories including family reunification, employment or humanitarian concerns.

Human rights issues were codified after World War II and signed by the United States and other countries. They identify refugees** as those forced to flee their country due to a well-founded fear of persecution based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group.

While seeking asylum. refugees should not be discriminated against. In fact, they are entitled to rights including access to courts, work and primary education. They should not be penalized for “illegal” entry or stay and under no circumstance forced to return to countries where they face persecution.

Trump ignores international protocols in order to paint immigrants as taking away jobs from U.S. citizens and being culturally different. He is ending the Temporary Protective Status (TPS) designed to help people from countries suffering from war, civil war or natural catastrophe.

That provision protected almost a million people from 17 different countries. Trump has already cancelled the provision for half a million Afghanis, Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans. Although his order has been temporarily halted by a court, it is a weapon hanging over their heads.

Many Americans might agree that given U.S. history there is an obligation to aid people from those countries. For example, Afghanis were promised protection against the Taliban when they agreed to work with the U.S. government during the U.S. occupation. Given the political destabilization in which Washington played a major role — along with two massive and destructive earthquakes — why should TPS be cancelled for Haitians?

Another temporary program, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), provides protection for those brought to the country as children. Public opinion polls show it is widely supported, but it faces legal challenge.

These are temporary categories, while immigrants who receive asylum status are on road to permanent residency (green card holders) and the possibility of U.S. citizenship. However, Trump has frozen these programs. Those already admitted have lost the support of resettlement agencies, whose funding has been cut.

Of the 120,000 refugees who had been vetted for admittance to the United States by the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program,10,000 already had their plane tickets when Trump’s Executive Order banned refugee resettlement. Subsequently, two federal court decisions have ruled that those with tickets are to be admitted. While the administration does not openly flaut the ruling, the pause continues as it claims time to rebuild the program it dismantled.

Along with the suspension of applications for asylum status and the threatened cancelling of temporary programs, permanent residents have been arrested and detained by DHS agents. Arrested green card holders include such well-known cases as Mahmoud Khalil and Mohsen Mahdawi, graduate students who opposed U.S. complicity in the Israeli war on Gaza.

Also arrested were Lewelyn Dixon and Max Londonio, longtime residents arrested at the airport on their way home from overseas vacations. Years ago both had committed non-violent crimes, served their time and rebuilt their lives.

Arrest and Deportation Strategy

Insofar as we can identify a strategy DHS prefers to use, high up on their list is arresting immigrants when they come to their court hearings or check in for routine appointments. Airports are also places where people are detained and interrogated.

Typical is the case of Max Londonio, who was arrested on his return from the Philippines after celebrating his 20th wedding anniversary with his wife. A green card holder and father of three, he had been convicted of theft as young adult. The 42-year-old, who came to the United States as a 12-year-old, was imprisoned in a detention center for two months — one month in solidarity confinement — before being released.

His family, his union — the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local 695 — and a community group, Tanggol Migrante WA, campaigned to have the charges dropped. They held press conferences and demonstrations in front of the Tacoma, Washington detention center.

At least three other permanent residents are known to have been arrested, detained and eventially released at that facility, which is operated by the for-profit CoreCivic.

Here’s how DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin discussed Londonios case with Newsweek:

“Maximo Londono has a criminal record, including convictions for grand theft and the use of a controlled substance. Under federal immigration law, lawful permanent residents convicted of these types of crimes can lose their legal status and be removed. If you are an alien, being in the United States is a privilege — not a right. When you break our laws that privilege should be revoked, and you should not be in this country.”

While Trump and his team brand immigrants as criminals, it is true that some committed crimes, were arrested and served their time. Why should they lose the only country they have ever known?

Lue Yang, 47, is currently detained in a detention center in Baldwin, MI. An auto industry engineer and president of the Hmong Family Association of Lansing, Yang was picked up by ICE at work July 15.

The father of six was born in a refugee camp in Laos and brought as an infant to the country. As a young adult he was arrested on a home invasion charge and served 10 months in prison.

Although the state of Michigan expunged his record, ICE considers him a criminal. Along with 15 other Hmong and Laotian people with similar stories, he faces deportation to Laos where he is likely to be imprisoned as a dissident.

In reports I’ve read, I’ve noticed that ICE agents prefer making arrests in public spaces, often when the person is in a car or walking, rather than at home. Even when ICE had staked out the residence, they prefer to make the arrest in public.

This fact also indicates the importance of mutual aid, which can cut down on the immigrants’ vulnerability. How can we offer rides to and from work, walk children to school and sports games, make sure there is food in the house?

Now that ICE is under growing pressure to meet and maintain a 3,000-a-day goal, other federal agencies have been tapped. These include Customs and Border Protection (CBP, whose job is defined as security at the borders), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service.

The Trump administration has also enlisted local and state law enforcement officials in jurisdictions like Florida and Texas to support ICE operations. By the middle of April, 184 agencies across 28 states had signed 287 collaborative agreements, usually to hand over non-citizens to ICE custody.

The activation of the California National Guard over the heads of the governor and local officials shows how central deportation is to Trump’s agenda Yet there are obvious contradictions between arresting workers and keeping the country running.

Mass Arrests

Last spring 125 workers were arrested at a GE Appliance plant in Louisville, Kentucky; then ICE showed up at a Kraft-Heinz plant in Holland, Michigan. Both businesses reported subsequent production chaos. At the Holland plant the remaining work force was moved to an overtime schedule.

Undoubtedly it was the June 6 mass raids and continuing occupation in Los Angeles that dramatically publicized the administration’s determination to reach their deportation goals. The first day, ICE had four warrants and went to three locations, netting a total of 44 people plus David Huerta, president of SEIU California. Agents claimed he was interfering with the arrests. The same day, ICE raided an Omaha meatpacking plant and arrested 70 workers.

To carry out the LA raid, the armed presence of ICE was backed up by other federal agents and under the protection of the Los Angeles City Police. Then Trump called out nearly 5,000 members of the California National Guard and got Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to mobilize 700 Marines.

Since then, masked federal agents have shown up various Home Depot stores, car washes, restaurants and scrap yards in unmarked cars. They also showed up as a heavily-armed contingent and marched provocatively through LA’s MacArthur Park.

The LA performance cost more than $134 million in the first 60 days. It was an attempt to terrorize the LA Latino community that dates back centuries. But it was also aimed at immigrant communities across the country.

Community members along with immigrant justice activists immediately mobilized to protect their neighbors and protested those detained at the Federal Detention Center. That defense has continued through mutual aid and postering information about these disappearances on telephone poles and in stores. Activists describe the arrests as kidnappings carried out by armed, masked men.

The same resistance was on display July 10 when Department of Customs Enforcement agents, accompanied by helicopters, raided two Glass House Farms. Located north of LA, both produce state-licensed cannabis.

As word spread, about 500 gathered at the Camarillo site, seeking information about their relatives and protesting the raid. Authorities clad in helmets and face masks dispersed the crowd with rubber bullets and gas canisters.

The United Farm Workers statement on the raid mentioned that several workers were injured. U.S. citizens were held for hours, and before being released forced to delete photos and videos of the raid from their phones.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem commented on X it was “quickly becoming one of the largest operations since President Trump took office.” ICE claims to have arrested 361 farmworkers, including 14 children and four U.S. citizens.

The raid also resulted in the first recorded ICE fatality. While hiding, Jaime Alanis (57) fell 30 feet from a greenhouse roof and was taken to the hospital. He was taken off life support two days later.

Already some small businesses have been forced to shut down. After all, employers need a consistent labor force. As California’s berry season took off, the value of an unpicked crop drops by the hour. It’s not only the agricultural industry that is facing a labor shortage: the construction and hospitality industries, meatpacking and restaurants are too. Despite the number of high-profile workplace raids, they remain episodic.

Go Home!

Even with the $170 billion allotted to the deportation budget over the next four years, self-deportation remains key. All the pieces of the plan — from expanding detention facilities, recruiting more ICE agents, installing surveillance to denying benefits to children in mixed-status families — are predicated on showing immigrants they are being hunted.

The danger in mass workplace raids is that this tactic can mobilization opposition — as it did in southern California. More importantly from Trump’s point of view are objections from farmgrowers and other business associations.

Officials estimate that more than 40% of those who pick crops are “without papers,” and probably more in the dairy industry. Once a raid takes place, it is estimated that 30-70% of the work force stays home. Whatever one’s legal status, raids are scary for any person of color who could be swept up.

After hearing complaints from farm and hotel owners, Trump suggested he would pause raids in those industries. On June 13 the New York Times reported that Tatum King, a high-ranking ICE official, sent a note to regional ICE departments that “Effective today, please hold on all work site enforcement investigations/operations on agriculture (including aquaculture and meat packing plants), restaurants and operating hotels.”

But the pause was short lived. Just three days later ICE departments were informed it was full steam ahead.

The Rationale for Spreading Terror

The Trump administration is spending $3 million on ads to urge self-deportation. With the average deportation costing more than $17,100, arranging airfare and offering a $1,000 bonus when the person arrives back home is cheap. They also falsely promise that those who self-deport will be able to return to “live the America dream.”

The self-deportation campaign encourages people to avoid being humiliated. This is an especially effective argument in the overcrowded detention centers when an individual has no access to a lawyer.

Recognizing that one will be held in “a black box” for months, as the Washington Office on Latin America has characterized these facilities, some have chosen to accept what is listed as a “voluntary” departure.

With the signing of Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), $170 billion has been allotted for the deportation program. This is to reshape an already discriminatory system and challenge the legal right of every person to due process.

As Trump has remarked, “[w]e cannot give everyone a trial, because to do so would take, without exaggeration 200 years.” And to the extent that the administration is successful in sidestepping due process, Trump will be that much further along in constructing an authoritarian state.

Detaining Immigrants

Trump ruled anyone who is “illegal” must be in “mandatory detention,” meaning they cannot be released on bond.

At the beginning of the Trump administration, ICE could hold about 40,000 immigrants in various facilities across the country. Currently at least 55,000 are in detention. Some are forced to sleep on mattresses on the floor with 40-50 people per toilet and shower. Access to medical care, particularly for chronic illnesses, is inadequate. So far this year there have been 10 recorded deaths.

Detention centers are mostly operated by GEO Group and CoreCivic, who also operate private prisons. The GEO Group, with half a dozen former ICE officials in its leadership, also monitors another 185,000 immigrants with GPS tracking.

When many deportations took place at the border, immigrants were slated for hearings and released or deported relatively quickly. But the Trump administration plans to detain up to 100,000 at a time and has signed nine new contracts with the two companies. Both have big plans for expansion as they rake in record profits.

One example of quick action was GEO Group’s re-purposing of the juvenile prison it had closed in Baldwin, Michigan three years ago. The North Lake facility, now the largest detention center in the Midwest, with its 1,800 bed capacity is projected to generate an annual $70 million in revenue.

Basically 10 hubs around the country function to process immigrants. The most central is centered around an airport in Alexandria, Louisiana. Officials use the 400-bed facility next door to sort out immigrants and move them,
within a 72-hour window, to one of the eight nearby detention centers — or deport them.

According to a July 31 New York Times article approximately 40,000 detainees — shackled and handcuffed — are routed through the Alexandria airport as if they were so many Amazon packages.

Two other high-profile centers are worth noting:

• The infamous Alligator Alcatraz detention center operated by the state of Florida. It houses 900 immigrants with plans to expand to 4,000. Since the Everglades facility is state operated, it was able to circumvent federal environmental regulations. Environmental groups that stopped development of a major airport there years ago are challenging its construction on the basis of harm to endangered species, water issues and a fragile ecosystem.

• Trump has talked about housing up to 30,000 detainees in Guantánamo, Cuba. He spoke of how this facility would be an ideal place for hardened criminals.

Both Alligator Alcatraz and Guantánamo, are out-of-the-way facilities where it will be difficult to communicate with legal counsel. It will also be necessary to fly in supplies, including fresh water, to keep these facilities operating. The cost will be enormous.

Plans for Expansion & New Protocols

Although many of these various immigration protocols have been tried before, the newest and most innovative include the attempt to overturn birthright citizenship, coerce countries into taking people who are not their citizens (third-party deportation), terrorizing people to return to their country in fear, and the sheer number deported with longterm roots in the United States.

The list as a whole reveals the vindictive character of an administration desirous of punishing those who dare to migrate.

For socialists and immigrant rights activists, whether we work in a union or non-union facility, whether we work in a large workplace or a small one, whether our boss is sympathetic to ICE or not, workers need to hold discussions and develop a strategy about how to respond if ICE arrives.

Many workplaces developed protocols during the Obama administration and a few unions have added contract provisions that aid those picked up by ICE. (See Right to Know booklets put out by the National Immigration Law Center and Arise.)

We have seen that when unionized workers are detained, their union — and often a community organization too — defends them, holds press conferences and pickets detention facilities. Most impressive was the work of Sheet Metal Local 100 to ask construction workers’ unions to publicize the case of Kilmer Abrego Garcia with banners and contingents at the May Day marches.

Some point to the contradiction in this cruel deportation policy because experts see that annually more than a million young immigrants are needed to maintain the U.S. economy at its current level.

From the point of view of the capitalist system, it would be better if the government could set strict requirements that tied immigrants to a specific job and time period. They should come to work, but their families should remain at home. In fact, in 2024 farmers were given H-2A visas for over 375,000 foreign workers. Other programs, including for high-tech workers, bring the total to about one million work visas a year.

If visa holders are fired or leave the job, they are subject to deportation. Whether paid minimum wages or high tech salaries, in essence these immigrants are chained to their employer. Clearly such requirements constrain workers from struggling for better working conditions or joining a union.

Around the world, more and more workers are immigrants with few legal or political rights. Transnational capitalism thrives on this competitive model.

This is clearly not a model for humans. Instead we need to unite workers across whatever boundaries capital tries to impose. Citizen of the world, unite!

*U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is responsible for immigration enforcement. Its U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents are in charge of the ports of entry while the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is responsible for policing immigrants in the country’s interior.

**The term refugee refers to an immigrant already present in the country, while an asylum seeker is requesting entry into the country.

September-October 2025, ATC 238