What Will Happen To Our Immigration System If Trump Wins 2024 Elections?
12 January 2024Author: New York Immigration Lawyer Alena Shautsova
New York Immigration lawyer Alena Shautsova shares thoughts on the future of the Immigration state in the USA in connection with the 2024 Presidential elections.
Now, that 2024 has finally arrived, a new presidential election is about to take place. To select the country's next president, voters will go to the polls many times in the upcoming months. The 2024 election season begins with the Iowa Caucuses, which is on January 15, 2024. Republican supporters of their preferred candidate will assemble in meetings hosted by local political organizations. Not surprising, in the country of immigrants, a candidate’s immigration policy and promises will play one of the key roles and voters will be marking their ballots.
The ongoing debate surrounding America's border policies has reached a critical juncture, with former President Donald Trump announcing his intentions to reverse the current administration's strategies on immigration. The US-Mexico border remains a fiercely debated political battleground, and both major parties offer drastically different visions for its future. In a recent op-ed, former President Donald Trump outlined his aggressive plans for securing the border if re-elected. This blog aims to dissect Trump's proposals with a neutral stance, analyzing their potential impact and contrasting them with the current situation under President Biden. He asserts that the Biden administration's border policies have led to an uncontrollable influx of migrants, creating what he terms a "nation-wrecking nightmare."
During the previous presidential term, the Trump administration claimed to have successfully established the most secure border in the history of the United States. They accomplished this through a variety of measures, which included implementing the "Remain in Mexico" policy, negotiating agreements with Central American countries, deporting over a million undocumented immigrants, and ending catch-and-release practices.
One of the major highlights of the Trump administration's border security efforts was the separation of the children from their families when they were seeking entry into the United States. This inhumane practice was stopped, and the administration tried to unite children with their families, but not all children found their homes. This practice was in effect from about mid-2017 through about mid 2019.
The most outrageous examples of the “separation policy” happened on June 9, 2018 when a man from Honduras suffered a nervous breakdown after being separated from his wife and child at the border died by suicide in a Texas jail in May, The Washington Post reported. On June 14, 2018 – CNN reported that a Honduran woman was breastfeeding her daughter in detention in McAllen, Texas, when federal authorities snatched the child away from her...
Several policy reversals happened after Biden took office as president. Construction on the border wall was stopped, "Remain in Mexico" was abolished, asylum prohibitions were removed, and "Title 42"—which was used to quickly repatriate illegal immigrants—was ended. According to Trump, this increased unauthorized border crossings, a record number of immigrants entering the nation, and an alleged spike in the influx of criminal elements into American neighborhoods. There are several issues with Trump's ideas, as deduced by experts and critics. They have argued about the border wall's usefulness, raising concerns about both its financial viability and its effects on migratory trends. There is also controversy around the usage of resources beyond agency boundaries and the legality of mass deportations. Some contend that taking such actions might exacerbate social differences and violate legal due process and humanitarian values.
Furthermore, some contend that Trump exaggerates the circumstances as they are. Undoubtedly, under Biden, border crossings have increased, but when population growth is taken into account, they still fall within historical limits. Furthermore, it ignores other variables like economic instability and gang violence that drive migration from Central America when attributing the growth to policy changes alone.
Former President Donald Trump has promised to swiftly dismantle President Biden's "open borders" policies if re-elected. He plans to revive the stringent border measures that defined his past administration, including mass deportations, leveraging resources from multiple federal agencies, and invoking the controversial the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 to expedite the removal of unwanted immigrants. Trump also pledges to reinstate Title 42, a policy that allows for quick expulsion of asylum seekers due to public health concerns. One of the measures Trump has been adamant about is to end citizenship for children born in the United States but to non-citizen parents. According to CBS, “The former president has said he would direct immigration officers to deny entry to "Marxists" and "communists," though he has not shared details on how such vetting would be implemented. He also committed to halting refugee admissions from the Middle East and expanding the travel ban his administration issued to bar the entry of citizens from certain countries, most of them majority Muslim or African."
Trump’s hardline approach has drawn criticism from critics who argue that it prioritizes deterrence and enforcement over human rights and the humane treatment of migrants. They raise concerns about its potential long-term effectiveness and potential violation of legal and humanitarian obligations.
Trump portrays America under Biden as a country on the verge of collapse, painting a bleak picture of the country. He presents himself as the only contender capable of addressing an enormous array of issues, including protecting an open border, reining in hyperinflation, reviving a collapsing economy, sanitizing a dishonest Washington, and establishing peace via force. With his exaggerated language, he highlights experience and urgency, painting himself as the sole one with the ability to prevent disaster and a track record of decisive leadership. But detractors would counter that, given the complexity of these problems, his promise of quick fixes seems illusory and that he is oversimplifying difficult issues while ignoring encouraging signs.
Most importantly, it is most concerning and disheartening that according to Trump: immigrants are “poisoning the blood of our country.” Trump’s claims with regard to immigration in the USA, have been mostly unfounded and debunked, but it does not stop his supporters from repeating the false narrative.
One thing is for sure: if Trump will take back the Oval office, he will undoubtfully will pressure the Department of Justice to turn away from prosecutorial discretion, will try to institute some sort of a Travel ban, and will attack the asylum system. The 2024 Presidential vote will undoubtably will be one of the most heated, unpredictable and defying in the history of the USA.