Anthony Pahnke is the Vice-President of the Family Farm Defenders and an Associate Professor of International Relations at San Francisco State University; anthonypahnke@sfsu.edu.
By now, we have heard the mantra that President Donald Trump was right to close the border, but wrong in his heavy-handed approach to immigration enforcement. We are also told that if he would have simply done what most Americans wanted, that is, arrest and deport violent criminals, then his poll numbers would be higher, and his administration wouldn’t find itself embroiled by crisis in the aftermath of two killings at the hands of federal agents in Minneapolis.
But this claim—that the problem with Trump's immigration agenda is mainly about enforcement tactics—is flawed. Seriously addressing this country's ongoing immigration crisis will require policy change, and to get to that point, there needs to be a narrative shift in this country away from indiscriminately criminalizing all undocumented people to humanizing them. To put this in perspective, we need to realize that for America to enforce its way out of our current immigration disaster would trigger events like what's happening in Minneapolis all over the country. The enforcement-first rhetoric put forth by this administration and its supporters is dangerous for the violence it exacts on immigrants and citizens alike. Considering two sets of numbers makes this clear. The first is how apprehensions at the border have dropped to zero. Beginning with asylum restrictions put into place at the end of Biden’s term in 2024, the flow of people into the US has fallen steadily. This becomes an issue when noting another figure, specifically, the Trump administration's goal of making 1 million deportations a year. Of the 14-or-so million undocumented people in the US now, according to the Pew Research Center, the majority are long-term residents with more than 15 years living in the country. Logically then, with border removals no longer a factor in deportation figures as they were in prior administrations, reaching the 1 million mark will mean going after people who have spent years, perhaps decades, living in the US without legal status. Finding and apprehending those people who have become central to the fabric of their communities is what Immigration and Customs Enforcement is doing in Minneapolis. The chaos seen in Minneapolis will continue elsewhere, as coworkers, neighbors, and our fellow parishioners will disappear, triggering anger, protest, and perhaps worse wherever federal agents are sent. Border Czar Tom Homan, claiming that there would be calm in Minnesota if local officials would just let ICE into its jails, and how the government is going after the “worst of the worst,” is also doing nothing more than gaslighting.Consider Texas, where we find 1 in 4 of every immigrant who has been arrested in the country. The Lone Star state has the second-most local law enforcement agencies, at 167, trailing only Florida, that have partnered with the federal government to carry out Trump’s immigration agenda. State law that went into effect this year states that every police department must collaborate by year’s end.Data from Texas don’t lie—ICE is not going after the “worst of the worst.” In fact, according to the Texas Tribune’s analysis of Department of Homeland Security data, nearly 60% of immigrants detained in the state have only the immigration-related offenses of either coming to the county without legal authorization, or residing here after their permits or visas expired. Figures nationwide on the immigrants in detention are the same. Administration officials, including Homan and Kristi Noem, neglect to mention these facts as they cherry-pick individual cases of violent criminals to distract the public from the community-destroying results of their enforcement actions. Still, even with the numbers belying the administration's official line, immigration offenses are still, well, offenses. This is why humanizing immigrants, especially by acknowledging their pathways to the US, is needed now more than ever.Before legislative changes can be made—and there are many options currently in Congress, such as establishing legal pathways for undocumented farmworkers, children, and spouses of US citizens—we need to note that people come to the United States for many reasons outside of their control. How economic and political crises drive people away from their homes—as they did from Mexico in the 1990s in the aftermath of NAFTA, and most recently, from Venezuela and Nicaragua—point to factors beyond individual choice. As the data on detentions show, the vast majority come not to kill people or deal drugs, but to work, escape some form of oppression, or leave natural disasters. If you want further proof of this, then look at research—from Texas—showing that undocumented people commit crimes at a rate lower than native-born people. The fact that we live in a volatile world also should make people rethink heaping praise on the Trump administration for closing the border, which in reality only asks for humanitarian crisis to take place there. Instead, we need a more durable, flexible approach to immigration that takes into consideration the reality that the world is not perfect, crises occur, and people may consider coming to the US. Thinking that central to immigration policy is sealing the border like a jar, is at best a childish fantasy, or at its worst, ideological fodder for white nationalists. The point is that the enforcement-first rhetoric put forth by this administration and its supporters is dangerous for the violence it exacts on immigrants and citizens alike. The problem our country has with immigration is not enforcement tactics, but vision and basis for the policy area in the first place.
Trump-Administration Tom-Homan Asylum-Seekers Immigration-Detention Immigration
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Federal vs. local authorities play tug-of-war over immigration policyWASHINGTON - Aggressive immigration tactics by the trump ad ministration during the last several months appear to be triggering new actions from state and local
Read more »
Is immigration enforcement 'a purge of undesirables?' — Redditors' questions answeredKPBS brought together a panel of journalists and policy experts to answer Reddit users' questions about federal immigration policy under President Donald Trump.
Read more »
Noem to Testify Before House Judiciary Committee Amid Immigration Policy ScrutinyHomeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem will appear before the House Judiciary Committee on March 4, facing questions regarding the Trump administration's immigration enforcement practices, sanctuary cities, and the deaths of two U.S. citizens during immigration operations. This follows her upcoming appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee and amid ongoing court challenges to DHS arrests and detentions. The hearing is also in response to the controversy over her initial statements regarding the Minnesota killings.
Read more »
Minneapolis Residents Resist ICE, Protests Erupt Over Immigration PolicyResidents of Minneapolis are actively working to impede Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations, fueled by anger over the Trump administration's immigration policies and recent shooting deaths involving federal agents. Protests have spread across Minnesota, leading to policy changes and increased scrutiny of ICE activities.
Read more »
El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells to address homelessness, immigration policy in State of the City speechGabe Salazar is KGTV's newest multimedia journalist, weekend anchor and forecaster.
Read more »
More Americans Say Immigration Makes US ‘Better Off’ in 15% Swing: PollShifting public sentiment toward immigration could influence congressional races and policy strategies ahead of the midterms.
Read more »