Related Articles
-Editorial
Amid growing concerns over U.S. immigration policy changes, experts warn that recent moves could jeopardize the rights of legal immigrants, disrupt families, and destabilize entire communities. Under President Trump’s administration, the promise of mass deportations has evolved beyond border crossers and criminal immigrants to include legal residents, visa holders, tourists, and even visa applicants.
Humanitarian protections, such as Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Parole programs, are being revoked, putting hundreds of thousands at risk of deportation to countries they fled due to danger. The shift has led to the secretive transfer of detainees to third countries like El Salvador and Panama in what experts are calling illegal “renditions.” These developments have sparked legal battles and deepened the sense of uncertainty for immigrant communities.
“We’ve seen the erosion of key protections for immigrants who entered the U.S. legally,” said Todd Schulte, President of FWD.us. Schulte emphasized that parole programs, such as Uniting for Ukraine and pathways for individuals from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, had allowed immigrants to enter the U.S. legally, offering them opportunities to work and live without the fear of deportation.
“These programs have been a tremendous success, but now, we are stripping away that legal status,” Schulte said. He also voiced concerns about ongoing efforts to dismantle TPS, a program that protects over a million individuals, many of whom have lived in the U.S. for decades.
Martin Kim, Director of Immigration Advocacy at the Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC), echoed these concerns, pointing out the growing trend of criminalizing immigrants and expanding the definition of “criminal” to encompass a broader swath of the population.
“What starts as rhetoric against undocumented immigrants is now being applied to everybody here,” Kim warned. “This is not just about undocumented immigrants. It’s a slippery slope that threatens all immigrant communities, and, by extension, all Americans.”
Kim also raised alarms about the revival of the Alien Enemies Act, which had been used during World War II to justify the internment of Japanese Americans. The Trump administration has invoked the law to expedite deportations, including targeting Venezuelan asylum seekers who may be accused of gang affiliation without evidence. This tactic undermines due process, Kim argued, by bypassing the legal requirement to prove criminal activity in a court of law.
David Leopold, past president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, criticized the use of the Alien Enemies Act, calling it an infringement on the constitutional right to due process. “This is about stripping away rights and due process in favor of expedited deportations,” Leopold said. He further highlighted the dangers of using this law to justify mass deportations based on political rhetoric.
Leopold also pointed to a recent collaboration between Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to access tax records of undocumented immigrants. “The government admits that immigrants pay their taxes,” Leopold noted. “Why is the IRS being used to track down immigrants? This policy poses risks for all Americans, not just immigrants.”
The broader implications of these policies are clear: they threaten not only immigrant communities but also undermine the core values of due process that American democracy is built upon. As immigration enforcement tactics become more aggressive, the line between protecting national security and infringing individual rights becomes increasingly blurred.
Kim and Schulte both called for policies that would create pathways to permanent status for immigrants, rather than leaving them in a state of uncertainty. Schulte emphasized that without such reforms, the current approach risks “throwing people into chaos.”
“It’s not enough to address temporary protections,” Schulte said. “We need to build towards a permanent status for immigrants, ensuring that we don’t continue to subject them to fear and uncertainty.”