According to CNN’s 2024 exit polls, voters believed the economy, immigration, and democracy to be the most important issues of the 2024 presidential election. Among those who believed immigration was the most important issue, 89% of them voted for Trump.
As we approach the end of Trump’s first hundred days in office, it’s important to look back on the work done by the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) and other immigration-related government agencies.
Since taking office, President Trump has signed at least eight executive orders directly pertaining to immigration reform.
Housed within the DHS is the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”). ICE focuses on enforcing immigration laws, responding to transnational crime, and protecting national security.
Headed by Director Tom Homan, ICE is responsible for reducing illegal border crossings drastically. In March, ICE’s border patrol encountered 7,181 migrants at the southern border. This is a 95% decrease from 2024, during which border control encountered 137,473 migrants. Why such a drastic change?
Trump v. J.G.G.
On January 20th, President Trump signed several executive orders declaring a national emergency at the southern border, thus partly reforming the visa application, asylum, and refugee processes. He also reworked the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (“USMCA”), a free trade deal. These measures reflected a broader effort by the administration to crack down on immigration and tighten national security.
On March 14th, Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act to authorize the removal of Venezuelan nationals who had crossed the border within the past few years and whom the Trump administration considered to be violent gang-affiliates of Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua.
Five of the men deported under this authorization sued the Trump administration in the case J.G.G. v. Trump, in which they asserted this act violated due process and was thus unconstitutional.
A brief note on due process: when analysts and pundits refer to “due process” in the context of this case, they are referring to the fundamental right that criminal matters be resolved according to the rules and principles of our criminal procedure system.
“No one shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law” ~ Fifth Amendment of the US Constitution
When the United States looks to deport someone, they are usually detained and held in a detention center before their deportation trial in which they make their case as to why they should stay in the country. Strong arguments that non-citizens make during these trials include providing valid legal basis for staying (green card, visa, etc.), humanitarian threats (imminent persecution or severe medical conditions), or even strong family ties (responsibly lived in the United States for years and started a family).
On March 15th, a district court judge issued a temporary restraining order to halt the removals of these men and turn their planes around. The planes were already in the air and headed to El Salvador (not Venezuela). Afterwards, Trump appealed to a federal court and lost. He then appealed to the US Supreme Court which held in a 5-4 decision on April 7th that “detainees must receive notice and an opportunity to be heard before removal,” thus losing again.
Noem v. Abrego Garcia
One of the deported men on the plane to El Salvador, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, has been a particularly contentious case over the past few weeks. Notably, he was deported to El Salvador when a previous immigration court forbade his removal because of imminent persecution by people in that country. In Noem v. Abrego Garcia, the US Supreme Court ruled that the government should facilitate and effectuate his return to the US.
Despite these court orders, the Trump administration’s executive branch has done nothing to return Abrego Garcia to the United States. In a press conference with President Bukele of El Salvador, president Trump rejected the idea of going into another country and returning a non-US citizen. When asked about returning Abregeo Garcia himself, President Bukele, “How can I smuggle a terrorist in the United States?”
Now what?
There has been no slow down in the Trump administration’s immigration action. People are still being deported without due process. Many in the country support the principle deportation, but just want the process to be done fairly and constitutionally.
Many others find their process of coming into the country to be so egregiously unfair that drastic action needs to be taken. The Biden administration let in 21 million immigrants—the vast majority of which were not properly vetted. Over the past decade, the United States deported about 350,000 people per year, following the principles of due process. At that rate, it would take about 28 years just to deport the illegal immigrants that Biden let into the nation.
Some consider this issue to come down to a value judgement. Which way do you value the law more? One, giving non-US citizens immigration hearings—all 21 million of them at a time, as is required by due process standards—or, two, sending these non-citizens out of the country, wherever that may be, because many didn’t legally immigrate in the first place, making this situation a special circumstance in which to circumvent their Fifth Amendment due process right.
So what do you think? Comment below.
Leave a Reply