Trump's Immigration Law: Unraveling The Broken Promises

On his first day in office, President Trump issued a series of executive orders that threaten to break immigration law and violate human rights. Trump's orders seek to redefine America by excluding everyone from border-crossers seeking refuge to children born to non-citizen parents. These orders include novel legal arguments that involve the U.S. military in repelling asylum seekers, threatening the use of criminal penalties, and invoking the centuries-old Insurrection Act and Alien Enemies Act. Trump's actions have sown fear in immigrant communities, causing chaos and dysfunction in the immigration system, and wasting billions of dollars. They also violate due process by reducing access to legal representation and stripping people of a fair outcome in the immigration court system.

Trump's use of 'expedited removal' to deport immigrants without a court hearing

On 21 January 2025, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) expanded its use of a process called "expedited removal", which allows the government to deport someone without a court hearing. This puts undocumented community members at greater risk of being put in a rapid deportation process without the right to appear in front of an immigration judge or fight their case. Previously, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) only used expedited removal against people within 100 miles of the border and within 14 days of their arrival. Now, the government has said it plans to use expedited removal anywhere in the country against any undocumented person who can’t prove they have been in the U.S. continuously for two years before the arrest.

The DHS has also announced it intends to use this power even against people who entered through a parole program. This means that even if someone was lawfully paroled into the country, they could still be subject to expedited removal. The only exception is if the person says they are afraid to return to their country and passes a fear screening interview, which might allow them to seek asylum.

The use of expedited removal is part of Trump's broader agenda to redefine America to exclude everyone from border-crossers seeking refuge to children born to parents who are in the U.S. on temporary visas. Trump's immigration orders threaten millions of people with deportation, including those with legal status in the U.S. These orders also reduce access to legal representation and suspend critical programs that help people navigate the complex legal system.

Legal experts and immigrant advocates warn that the expansion of expedited removal bypasses due process and puts citizens and long-term residents at risk. They believe that expanding the "border zone" to the entire country will make it much easier to realise the Republican's campaign promise to expel millions of undocumented people. Furthermore, the swiftness of expedited removals and the nebulous nature of its protocols make it likely to lead to unjustified deportations. On average, a person spends 11.4 days in custody before being deported under expedited removal proceedings, compared to 51.5 days for regular removal proceedings.

There is also concern that racial profiling will result in U.S. citizens and immigrants who wouldn't usually be subject to expedited removal being deported. With the expansion of the policy's reach to the rest of the country, there is a higher likelihood that people will be detained based on their appearance. There is already some evidence of this occurring, with reports of a U.S. military veteran and Native American people being wrongfully detained by ICE.

Trump's expansion of immigration enforcement, exacerbating the court backlog

Trump's expansion of immigration enforcement will exacerbate the court backlog. Trump's administration has vowed to carry out mass detentions and deportations of millions of immigrants, including long-term residents. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been directed to expand the nation's detention infrastructure and begin detaining everyone arrested by DHS pending their removal (deportation). This will result in a drastic increase in the number of people in the court system, which is already overwhelmed by over 3.7 million cases, most of which do not have legal representation.

Trump's actions will also significantly reduce access to legal representation. Expanding the use of detention and rapid deportations will make it difficult for people to secure legal representation to help them navigate their cases. An estimated 70% of people held in immigration detention on deportation cases in the past three years have been unrepresented in their proceedings.

Trump's expansion of immigration enforcement will also lead to increased racial profiling and negative consequences for the US workforce and economy. Local law enforcement agencies will be empowered to target immigrants, and there will be increased workplace raids, which can lead to family separations and negative impacts on the mental and physical health of immigrant families.

Furthermore, mass deportations can result in workforce shortages in key sectors, negatively impacting the economy and potentially increasing the cost of essential goods. Trump's actions will also affect asylum seekers, who will be forced to remain in Mexico, facing unsafe conditions and struggling to access legal counsel to assert their right to enter the country.

Trump's suspension of critical programs that help immigrants navigate the legal system

On his first day back in office, President Trump issued a series of executive orders that cracked down on immigration. One of these orders, focused on interior enforcement, directed the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to review and audit all federal contracts and grants to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) providing services to immigrants.

On 22 January, the DOJ ordered legal service providers to cease work on critical programs, including the Legal Orientation Program, the Immigration Court Helpdesk, the Family Group Legal Orientation Program, and the Counsel for Children Initiative. These programs are longstanding, bipartisan-supported initiatives that have helped hundreds of thousands of immigrants, including children and families, to navigate the complex US legal system.

The suspension of these programs has left immigrants without access to basic legal information and representation. This is likely to result in longer detention periods and higher costs, as studies have shown that legal orientations help cases to move more quickly. It will also make it harder for people to secure their legal right to stay in the country, as they will be less likely to be able to find an attorney.

The suspension of these programs is part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to reshape the immigration court system into a politically motivated enforcement arm of the DOJ, rather than a neutral arbiter of who has the legal right to stay in the country.

Trump's reinstatement of the 'Remain in Mexico' policy

On 21 January 2025, the Trump administration announced the reinstatement of the "Remain in Mexico" policy, an aggressive border security measure that forces non-Mexican asylum seekers to wait in Mexico while their US cases are processed. This policy, also known as the Migrant Protection Protocols, was first launched by Trump in 2019 during his first term in office.

Trump officials have argued that the measure will deter fraudulent asylum claims. However, advocates and activists have criticised the policy, claiming that it puts vulnerable migrants, including families with young children, in danger. They argue that migrants are exposed to physical harm and illness in dangerous and unfamiliar surroundings. Biden ended the program in 2021, expressing concern about the squalid and hazardous conditions that migrants faced on the Mexican side of the border.

The reinstatement of the "Remain in Mexico" policy is part of a broader set of executive actions by Trump aimed at transforming US immigration law and policy. These actions include expanding the use of immigration detention, fast-tracking deportations, suspending critical programs that support immigrants, and targeting "sanctuary cities" that limit their assistance to federal immigration authorities.

Trump's restriction of humanitarian protections for immigrants

On the first day of his second term in office, President Trump issued ten executive orders and proclamations that touched nearly every aspect of the U.S. immigration law and policy. One of the main focuses of these executive orders was to restrict humanitarian protections for immigrants.

Trump's executive orders included the "Remain in Mexico" policy, which requires asylum seekers to remain in Mexico while awaiting their U.S. immigration court hearings. This policy has been criticised for leaving asylum seekers in dangerous conditions, exposing them to violence, extortion, and kidnapping. The "Remain in Mexico" policy was first implemented during Trump's first term in 2019 and was ended by the Biden administration in 2022. Trump has also directed the State Department to begin negotiations with other countries to accept U.S. deportations of asylum seekers under "Safe Third Country" agreements.

Trump's orders also included the suspension of refugee admissions to the U.S. and the reinstatement of the Migrant Protection Protocols, which force asylum seekers to wait in Mexico while their claims are processed. Additionally, Trump has shut down the CBP One app, which was the only way to apply for asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border. This has resulted in the cancellation of thousands of pending appointments.

Furthermore, Trump has directed the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to end parole programs that provide humanitarian protections for immigrants from certain countries, such as Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. DHS has also been instructed to "ensure" that work permits are not given to people without legal status, even if they have a pending immigration application. This change would significantly reduce the population eligible to work legally in the U.S.

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