A Fear-based Immigration Policy

Immigration Policy Brief #142 | Morgan Davidson | 4/1/2025

Featured Photo: Oregon Live

Summary

Trump’s mass deportation efforts remain ongoing across the U.S., capturing headlines with the arrests of student activists like Mahmoud Khalil and Rumeysa Ozturk, and the deportation of alleged Tren de Aragua members/Venezuelans legally here on asylum, not to Venezuela but El Salvador, including a U.S. resident misidentified as a gang member. Despite the high-profile raids and fiery rhetoric, government data shows that deportations under Trump still lag behind levels seen under the Biden administration.

What’s changed isn’t just the volume—it’s the method, the message, and the consequences.

Analysis

The Trump administration is leaning into an aggressive legal strategy, reviving obscure wartime laws and dismantling long-standing humanitarian protections. A prime example, the Alien Enemy Act, an 18th-century law allowing deportations of nationals from enemy countries during war. But Congress hasn’t declared war, Trump is simply deciding who the “enemy” is.

Beyond that, Trump has paused resettlement for tens of thousands of vetted refugees, including 15,000 Afghans. He’s ended humanitarian parole for migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Venezuela, and Nicaragua, leaving more than 500,000 people in legal limbo. His administration also launched a campaign to deport those accused of violent crimes—but less than half of the 8,200 arrested between January 20 and February 2 had any criminal convictions, according to ProPublica and the Texas Tribune.

Courts have tried to intervene, but Trump has openly called for the removal of “activist judges” and encouraged defiance of legal rulings. The message is clear: due process is optional when political spectacle is the goal.

And the scope of enforcement goes far beyond those with criminal records.

Khalil, a Columbia graduate, was accused of “activities aligned with Hamas” and detained—part of what Trump called the “first arrest of many.” Two more foreign-born academics at Georgetown and Brown have since been deported under vague homeland security concerns. These individuals are now thousands of miles from their families and lawyers, with no clear path to return.

Trump has also canceled a Biden-era program offering temporary legal status to migrants from four countries, urging them to “self-deport.” Advocates warn this leaves hundreds of thousands without time or legal means to stay, stuck in limbo as courts stall enforcement.

While deporting violent criminals enjoys broad bipartisan support, 97% of Americans back it, Trump’s approach is reckless and error-prone. The crackdown on alleged members of Tren de Aragua highlights how cases with public support are used to justify broader sweeps. Many deportees have been identified by tattoos with no gang affiliation—like “Family” or the autism awareness ribbon.

One case stands out: Kilmer Armado Abrego-Garcia, a Maryland resident with legal status, was mistakenly deported to CECOT, El Salvador’s notorious prison. ICE admitted the error but said the U.S. can no longer act, because Abrego-Garcia is no longer in custody. Meaning deportation can erase rights entirely.

This is not an isolated incident. Deportees are often dropped into unfamiliar countries with no safety net, no legal follow-up, and no recourse. NGOs like the American Immigration Council and Human Rights Watch report rising cases of abuse, extortion, and persecution, especially for those sent to unstable or hostile regimes.

This is no longer about immigration policy—it’s about power, ideology, and control.

We are watching a system that:

• Deports students for their politics.
• Sends refugees to prisons in countries they’ve never known.
• Abandons due process in favor of executive discretion.
• Ignores court orders to score political points.

So the question isn’t just what happens to immigrants when they’re deported. It’s- What kind of country are we becoming when we stop caring what happens to them at all? And more urgently, what kind of immigration system are we building when legal status, citizenship, and even human rights are conditional, temporary, and disposable?

Engagement resources–

• American Immigration Council: Explore how immigration policies affect families, the economy, and communities across the U.S. https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/
• Bipartisan Policy Center’s Immigration Reform Proposals: Explore balanced approaches to immigration policy that prioritize security, economic growth, and humanitarian concerns. https://bipartisanpolicy.org/topics/immigration/
• Texas Tribune’s Border Coverage: Follow in-depth reporting on Operation Lone Star and its implications for Texas taxpayers and National Guard members. https://www.texastribune.org/topics/border/
• Know Your Rights: The ACLU provides guidance for immigrants who have encounters with ICE here- https://www.aclu.org/know-your-rights/immigrants-rights