With President-elect Donald Trump just weeks away from taking office, immigrant rights and labor groups fear what is to come for the millions of immigrants living in the United States illegally or with temporary status.
Trump has announced plans to launch a mass deportation operation targeting immigrants living illegally in the U.S. and with temporary protections, starting immediately when he takes office on Jan. 20.
Tom Homan, “border czar” for the incoming Trump administration and former acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), said, “We’ll be ready to launch the day of the inauguration,” during a CNN interview.
“I don’t have a number. We want to arrest as many people as we can that are in the country illegally,” Homan added. “If you’re here illegally, you’re not off the table. It’s a violation of the law; it’s a crime to enter this country illegally.”
California was the state with the largest population of immigrants entering the U.S. illegally, with around 2.2 million in 2022, according to the Center for Migration Studies of New York.
Despite not having papers, undocumented people contribute immensely to the California economy. A report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found that in 2022 undocumented people in California paid $8.5 billion in tax revenue.
“We’re the most populous state in the nation, the most diverse state in the nation, home to more immigrants than any state in the nation, and we have the largest economy of any state in the nation,” Senator Alex Padilla previously told the San Fernando Valley Sun/el Sol. “That’s the case because of the contributions of so many immigrants, not despite them.”
With Trump going as far as saying that he would declare a national emergency and use the military to execute his mass deportation plans, many large democratic cities are establishing themselves as “sanctuary cities” in a refusal to assist with Trump’s plans.
Earlier this month the Los Angeles City Council formally adopted a sanctuary city ordinance, which prohibits city resources or personnel from being used to aid federal immigration authorities from implementing deportation orders.
Although LA has declared they will not aid ICE, at the end of the day federal agents can still carry out deportations in a sanctuary city.
In an interview with Fox News, Homan said, “So day one we’re going to be looking for these public safety threats, arresting them, detaining them and deporting them and if these Sanctuary City mayors don’t wanna help, then get the hell out of the way, because we’re coming, we’re doing it.”
Homan has even threatened to prosecute local officials in sanctuary cities who hinder efforts to deport migrants.
It is unclear what protections living within a sanctuary city will actually establish for migrants.
In honor of International Migrants Day, on Dec. 18, local organizations and hundreds of people rallied in downtown LA in an act of solidarity with immigrants who fear Trump’s promised plans for mass deportation.
The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA) led attendees for a 1.5-mile march, starting at Placita Olvera, and ending at the ICE Center in downtown. Many labor, faith and social justice organizations joined CHIRLA for the march.
CHIRLA led the events as part of the Fair Immigration Reform Movement national week of action, which calls on President Joe Biden and Congress to protect immigrant families and do what they can to enact measures to prevent incoming President Trump’s promised crackdown on illegal immigrants.
Biden and the 118th Congress can take action by voting against a proposal to increase funding requests for immigration enforcement and detention, according to CHIRLA. Additionally, federal leaders have an opportunity to extend protections for immigrants who have temporary protected status and deferred action for childhood arrivals, also known as DACA.
“People … who’ve been in this country for decades, demand that we, that this nation, have an answer for them after 40 years almost of inaction on immigration,” Jorge-Mario Cabrera, director of communications for CHIRLA, said in a prior interview.
The last major immigration reform enacted in the United States was the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, which legalized around 2.7 million undocumented residents.
During a congressional hearing earlier this month, Padilla called on his colleagues to pass the Citizenship for Essential Workers Act, which would create an expedited pathway to citizenship for the over 5 million immigrant workers deemed “essential” by the previous Trump administration.
“They’re supporting the punishment of over 5 million workers who Donald Trump’s own administration declared to be “essential” to our economy,” said Padilla. “Let’s provide them with some legal status upfront and a pathway to earn citizenship because we need them.”
