Advocates fear Trump immigration policies
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President-elect Trump made immigration one of the cornerstones of his campaign, and immigration advocates worry about the policies he may enact. Photo: Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Immigration attorneys and advocates are bracing for a slew of hard-line policies under the next Trump administration that could make life more difficult for migrants who come to the United States, both legally and illegally.
Why it matters: As a border state, immigration and border security policies can have an outsized effect on Arizona.
- Arizona has been at the forefront of controversial immigration policies, such as SB1070 in 2010 and former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's immigration roundups.
- Voters this month passed Proposition 314, which makes it a state crime to enter Arizona from Mexico anywhere except an official port of entry.
The big picture: While much of the focus on President-elect Trump's immigration policy proposals has been on mass deportations, many other facets of immigration law and policy could have a tremendous effect on immigrants and their families.
- Trump got off to a slow start on his immigration plans in his first term and was hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic, but, "They are much more prepared now, they are much more astute now, they obviously have a plan," said Delia Salvatierra, a Phoenix immigration attorney.
Catch up quick: Past may be prologue when it comes to the possible return of policies Trump implemented during his first term.
- Trump could reinstate his "remain in Mexico" policy, which President Biden ended, requiring non-Mexican asylum seekers to wait in Mexico while their cases are pending.
- Probably his most controversial immigration policy as president was family separation, in which parents who entered the country illegally were removed from their children.
- Yes, but: A federal judge prohibited such separations through the end of 2031 as part of a settlement to a Trump-era lawsuit.
What to watch: Some advocates expect Trump to undo Biden's policies, including the use of what's known as prosecutorial discretion.
- Tucson immigration attorney Jesse Evans-Schroeder told Axios she expects Trump to consider expanding expedited removal, in which deportations are fast-tracked without court hearings. A federal judge blocked the policy in 2019, but that ruling was overturned the following year.
- And Evans-Schroeder expects Trump will undo Biden's policy of prosecutorial discretion, in which immigration authorities are allowed to prioritize certain groups for arrest and deportation, like those who pose a threat to public safety or national security, while deprioritizing others.
- Mo Goldman, another immigration lawyer in Tucson, said he expects Trump to target the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and Temporary Protected Status, which allows migrants to stay in the U.S. if it's considered difficult or unsafe to return to their home countries.
Zoom in: Goldman worries that problems that have persisted under Biden will get worse under Trump, such as exceedingly long waits for green card and asylum applications to be processed.
- He said he's had clients who waited more than seven years just for an initial asylum interview after coming to the U.S.
The intrigue: Trump has vowed to end birthright citizenship, established by a 1982 U.S. Supreme Court ruling.
- Trump's ability to end birthright citizenship via executive order is legally questionable and would face litigation, but Salvatierra worried it would create confusion and fear.
- "They're going to be afraid. People are going to think that because they have a child in the United States and they're undocumented that they could go to jail," she said.