Immigrant-rights organizations across the United States are determined to resist any policies proposed by President-elect Donald Trump that target migrants.
Trump, who secured both the Electoral College and the popular vote—marking the first time a Republican has won since 2004—made immigration a central focus of his campaign. He has vowed to deport millions of undocumented immigrants and is expected to take action against the U.S. refugee resettlement program. Trump has also expressed his intention to end birthright citizenship for children born in the U.S. to parents without legal status.
“We’ve been preparing,” said Maribel Hernández Rivera, the ACLU’s director of policy and government affairs for border and immigration. “We have the legal tools, we have the advocacy tools, and, most importantly, we have people.” Rivera described Trump’s proposals as “cruel” and emphasized that they are ready to challenge his policies.
Murad Awawdeh, president of the New York Immigration Coalition, echoed this resolve. “We already survived one Trump administration, and we’re preparing to do it again,” he told NPR. Awawdeh outlined a three-pronged approach: protests, local legislation, and lawsuits. Immigrant rights groups are also ramping up “know your rights” training for the community. “This time, we are better prepared, know what to expect, and are ready to fight back against his racist deportation agenda,” Awawdeh added.
During Trump’s first election in 2016, there was much uncertainty about his specific immigration plans, aside from his promise to build a “big, beautiful wall” along the U.S.-Mexico border. However, this time, with Trump making mass deportations a key focus, advocacy groups have had more time to organize.
Hernández Rivera noted that the ACLU has developed a federal advocacy plan and that state chapters are preparing to create a protective barrier against the Trump administration’s policies. The ACLU is also mobilizing its four million members to defend immigrants.
Disillusionment with the Democratic Party
While many immigrant rights groups worked to support Democrats in swing states like Pennsylvania, some members are now expressing frustration with the party’s approach to immigration.
Gustavo Torres, executive director of CASA, a national nonprofit advocating for migrants, told NPR that blue-collar immigrant workers are disappointed in the Democrats’ immigration strategy. Specifically, he pointed to the failure of Kamala Harris and the Biden campaign to clearly articulate immigration policies, such as pathways to citizenship. Torres criticized Harris for attacking Trump over the failure of a bipartisan border bill without offering her own solutions.
“They have been promised immigration reform for the last 25 to 30 years, but it has never happened,” Torres said. He also pointed out that Democrats did not deliver on their promises when they controlled both the House and Senate during Barack Obama’s first term.
Torres added that many of CASA’s members feel tokenized by the Democratic Party, which has not delivered substantial immigration reforms.
Awawdeh also expressed dissatisfaction with how the Biden administration continued many of the restrictive policies set by the Trump administration. For example, President Biden maintained a ban on most asylum claims at the U.S.-Mexico border, a policy similar to one implemented by Trump. Biden also upheld Trump’s Migrant Protection Protocols, which required migrants seeking asylum to wait in Mexico for their court hearings, as well as the Title 42 policy that allowed for the expulsion of migrants during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The Republican Party pushes the rhetoric, but the Democratic Party often turns that rhetoric into policy,” Awawdeh said. “It’s unfortunate, but not entirely surprising.”
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