In January 2025, Donald Trump assumed the office of President of the United States. Since then, the immigration policies have shifted toward episodes of intense deportations and aggressive enforcement.
Under the pretext of protecting U.S. citizens, the USA laws and government orders are imposing terror and despair on the Latin America population.
The beginning and the justification
After Trump was sworn in as the president of the United States, one of his first political acts was the implementation of several restrictions for the immigrants in the country. A series of policy measures have been imposed, including restrictions for people outside and inside the U.S. A document released by the White House shares the New Administration Issues and their solutions for that.
Some of these decrees are Border Enforcement, against the immigrants who try to cross it illegally and live there without authorization, tougher sanctions for these illegal foreigners when caught and suspending the automatic citizenship and the refugees admission program. Also, a massive removal has taken place of Latino immigrants in the country, using violence and increasing the frequency of deportations to stimulate this practice.
For the people in the White House, the new policies have the legitimate reason of “cleansing” the USA. Removing Latin Americans, for them, is an act of protection, to save the U.S. citizens from the dangers caused by immigration. Trump expresses his opinion by a slogan: “Make America Great Again”, affirming that these foreigners are degrading the country, and deporting the “aliens” is the best choice to preserve their services and society.
As well, some fellow citizens share this vision. According to a new study made by Pew Research Center, 62% of Americans agree to maintaining a large military presence at the U.S.-Mexico border. Also, 56% approve the requirement of review social media accounts of people who want to enter the U.S. by the immigration officers.
A long-standing policy
Despite these practices making moves nowadays, these ideas and their implementation are an old story. Other presidents, Biden and Obama for example, still thought and improved measures to reduce the Latino immigration.
According to CNN, Biden’s government registered the highest level of deportations in 10 years, throughout a discourse threatening public and national security. Furthermore, Obama was the U.S. president who deported the most people in the 21st century. Data from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) states that more than 3 million were deported , adding together his two tenures.
Despite the hardening stance taken by Trump, the excuse has always been the same in all the administrations. In past centuries, policies were established to restrict immigration in an effort to prioritize native populations and Europeans. Since then, a controversial and xenophobic stance toward other nationalities, Latin Americans for example, has persisted, and has never been fully eradicated.
Latinos amidst the chaos
An analysis from the perspective of immigrants, classified as illegal, offers a different viewpoint. Both high demographic growth and rising vulnerability are a reality in the USA, creating in a defining moment. Pew Research Center made a deep survey about the topic. This data shows that Latinos now represent almost 20% of the U.S. population. Also, reports indicate a six-fold increase in the detention of Latinos with no criminal records, compared to previous years.
As a consequence, a widespread anxiety has taken hold across these nations. The “chilling effect”, according to Brookings, means the decline in the use of public services during Trump’s first term, due to fears caused by the increase in deportations. 16% of Latino immigrants avoided calling the police or reporting a crime.
The apprehension of losing a relative against this massive removal has grown as well. Brookings reveal that the majority (57%) of Latino parents are concerned that friends and family members may face deportation. This data includes 74% of Latino immigrants who are very concerned with the same situation. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is causing despair among these peoples by a violent suppression, violence that has become routine in ICE’s operations.
Therefore, the Latino immigrants have been constantly threatened, with policies that prohibit them, that are still growing since centuries ago. Its worsening situation is causing concern worldwide, and turning the reality more violent than it already was.
The article above was edited by Larissa Buzon.
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