Deportation vs. Legalization: As Trump’s Dragnet Expands, Reminders of A Better Way

Access online version of the press release HERE

Washington, DC — This week, we launched our new “Trump’s America” map, searchable by state, documenting some of the most egregious examples of the human and economic costs of the mass deportation agenda (read the accompanying blog post by AV Editor Gabe Ortiz as well). Every day, we see new reporting in the media that underscores the cruelty and destructive harms of what we’re witnessing:

●     Los Angeles Times, “Grandmother in U.S. without documentation faces deportation after wrong turn in San Diego”

●     The Washington Post, “Widespread ICE visits leave D.C. restaurant owners, workers rattled”

●     Daily Beast, “College Student Lands in ICE Detention After Alleged Illegal Red Light Turn”

●     Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “They voted for Trump and now their son is in ICE detention”

●     The Dallas Morning News, “Two U.S. citizen children deported to Mexico along with their mother, attorney says,” and

●     Axios, “Employers Worry Over Immigration Crackdown as Labor Shortage Fears Loom.”

All of it tees up the question, “isn’t there a better way?” Instead of targeting long-residing, hard-working, tax-paying undocumented immigrants for deportation, wouldn’t it make more sense to provide them with a process to become legal residents? As Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) recently noted: “Why don’t we make them pay a $5k fine, go through a background check, and give them a work visa for a few years, renewable with good behavior?”

According to Vanessa Cárdenas, Executive Director of America’s Voice:

“There is a better way to fix our broken immigration system than cruelty, chaos, deportations and economic turmoil. Instead of wasting billions of dollars on immigration raids at schools and restaurants and deporting long-residing workers, parents and spouses of U.S. citizens, wouldn’t it be better to set up a process for long-established immigrants to become legal residents and eventually U.S. citizens? Americans are recoiling from Trump’s overreach and witnessing his deportation agenda in action, and should be reminded that there IS a better way – legal pathways that would be better aligned with our nation’s values and interests.”

As America’s Voice detailed in our recent memo synthesizing immigration polling and related political implications, when offered the choice in polling, a strong majority of the American public prefers a balanced approach to immigration, involving legalization for long-residing undocumented immigrants (along with targeted enforcement against criminals and border security), instead of Trump’s enforcement-only and mass deportation approach (see more here).