Leading up to the 2024 election, Donald Trump was clear on making immigration his top issue. Specifically, he leaned into mass deportations and demonizing immigrant and migrant communities. Now, we’re clearly seeing the roadmap that Trump and his advisors have been laying out since the beginning. Policies of “safety” were merely the disguise for ideological state repression and the wearing down of the personal freedoms of all.
Let’s break down the phases of the President’s tactics criminalizing immigration and how deportation is being wielded as a political weapon.
Phase One: The Narrative of the Criminal Immigrant
First, Trump focuses on some of the easiest and most vulnerable target groups: immigrants, migrants, and asylum seekers. The Republican Party fed us the lie that immigrants are to blame for a long list of social and political problems. They leaned into the fears of the moment, inflating the presence of the “criminal immigrant”. They claimed that they would focus on this group to make America safer.
Over and over again, Trump framed his stance on immigration as a matter of critical safety, saying:
- “I will stop the invasion of criminals coming into our country”
- “You have to do what you have to do to stop crime and to stop what’s taking place at the border”
- “Army of gangs and criminal migrants from prisons and jails, insane asylums, and mental institutions from all around the world”
Unfortunately, while it sounded “reasonable” to some, it was only a false narrative meant to expand into ideological state repression. We’ve seen this type of us-versus-them mentality time and time again in history by dangerous dictators and oppressors. From slave owners to Hitler to Trujillo to Pinochet to Afrikaners. They all started out demonizing one group, only to continue expanding their definitions of “criminals” and “threats to security”.
Voters believed that Trump and the Republican Party would limit their attacks to those who “deserved” it. But the immigrant and abolitionist movements have sounded the alarm against this tactic for decades. The criminalization of communities and removal of certain groups rights are only a slippery slope towards authoritarianism and fascism.
Phase Two: Trump Denies and Delays Access to Legal Systems
Next, after establishing the criminal narrative, the current Administration creates restrictions on people’s ability to access legal and court systems. Ignoring the principle of “innocent until proven guilty”, Trump insinuates that “criminals” don’t deserve any legal support. This is done in service to their goal of mass deportation, and to their larger goal of suppressing political disagreement.
Before taking office, Trump said: “[o]n Day 1, I will launch the largest deportation program of criminals in American history”. However, he didn’t count on the tireless efforts of grassroots, organized movements educating communities on their rights under the law. Now, with lower deportation numbers than he’d like, he has turned to policies like the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to get around democratic rights.
They don’t care that the Constitution insists that no person be deprived of their right to due process. The Republican Party and MAGA enthusiasts clearly see this right as an obstacle to their ultimate goals of societal control. That’s why the administration has leaned into actions that weaken access. They are skipping due process, by refusing access to immigration hearings and adequate legal defense, to maintain power.
It All Comes Down to Power
Disturbingly, the Trump Administration is going as far as ignoring the rulings of federal district court judges like James Boasberg. Instead, the Republican Party is doubling down on their quest for power and control. According to Newsweek, the GOP introduced a proposal that “would spark a major constitutional crisis and set a precedent for congressional firing of judges seen as political opponents”.
As they dissolve due process, everyday people lose the chance for fairness and justice, even within our already flawed systems. In the most recent deportations to El Salvador, we’ve seen the damages: many being deported that weren’t supposed to be. This includes a Maryland father that the government admitted was because of “an administrative error”. And even with this admission, the administration has stated that they will not be lifting a finger to correct it.
Phase Three: Determine Criminal Activity In Any Way They Can
If unable to establish the person as a “criminal” under US law, next the Trump Administration looks to find justifications in their home country. It doesn’t matter if the accused crime is legitimate or not, like in the case of LGBTQ asylum seekers. Or in the case of Venezuelans and Central Americans’ with tattoos labeled as gang members, despite reports to the contrary.
Meanwhile, in the matter of international students, the Administration and Republican Party have taken things a step further. They are targeting students, labeling them threats to national security if they are involved in activist movements that are “creating a ruckus”.
Some of the students targeted include:
- Rumeysa Ozturk, a Tufts University PhD student targeted for expressing her opinion on Tufts’ response to student groups asking for divestment from companies tied to the genocide of Palestinians
- Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia PhD student (and legal U.S. resident) who organized campus protest in support of Palestine
- Momodou Taal, a Cornell University PhD student whose visa was recently revoked for participating in pro-Palestinian protests and
These are just a few snapshots of the over 300 foreign-born students who have been unjustly singled out, and the Trump Administration hopes for these numbers to grow. To date, Ozturk and Khalil are being held in detention facilities in Louisiana, and just this week Taal made the decision to leave the US rather than be deported or detained.
Phase Four: Speaking Out Against the Government As Deportable Offenses
It’s critical to note that these students aren’t being attacked because they have been charged with a crime or have a criminal record. Simply by engaging in actions that do not support the current US foreign policies, students are targeted for deportation. Republicans are casting a wide net to determine “criminal” behavior, one that massively infringes on democratic rights.
Importantly, lawyers, politicians, and organizers are pointing out how the targeting of international students raises “serious constitutional concerns”. Not only are due process rights being violated by the Trump Administration, but so are first amendment rights. Notably, the first amendment guarantees people the right to freedom to express opposition to the government via: speech, assembly, and petition.
The Trump Administration’s actions directly go against these constitutional rights. And we’re already seeing this tactic spreading to other movement sectors. In mid-March Jeanette Vizguerra was arrested in the parking lot after her work shift, in Denver, CO. Vizguerra is a nationally known immigration rights activist and during her arrest an agent remarked “We finally got you”.
At the end of March, farmworker labor organizer Alfredo “Lelo” Juarez Zeferino was forcibly detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). It is believed that his arrest was politically motivated, due to his organizing of immigrant and farmworker communities. All across the country, we’re seeing increased attacks and efforts to detain and deport union members and immigration rights activists.
The Next Phase: Criminalizing Dissent Across the Board
It is all too clear that if you’re a non-citizen, the current administration has found that it’s easier to deport you for your ideas than to charge you in court. Compared to Trump’s original claims, it’s unmistakable that their goal post has expanded to capture as many people as possible.
We’ve seen the shifts, and they’re only continuing to grow. MAGA has gone from “prioritizing dangerous criminals” to “the only way you don’t break up the family is you keep them together and you have to send them all back”. Beyond revoking temporary protected status for thousands of families, they are targeting activists with Trump warning “we will find you and we will deport you”.
This is the reality of how the current Administration is operating, 74 days into their second term in office. Even the director of the Project 2025 right-wing handbook said that Trump’s actions thus far have gone beyond his “wildest dreams”.
They’ve gone from targeting “criminal” immigrants in the US to deporting people with suspected criminal activity from before they were in the country. Now, they target those who are against the foreign policies and actions of the US.
The reality is that this was always their end game. Republicans want to prevent dissent – squash the voices of those with differences of opinion and anyone willing to fight back. What’s more, this isn’t just about individual targeting, it’s a warning to entire communities.
What’s At Stake For Us All Under Trump
From the beginning, as outlined in Project 2025, the aim was to control the actions of a society they deemed too progressive. The Trump Administration isn’t simply interested in attacking specific individuals, they want to weaken and dismantle entire social movements.
This isn’t about who crossed the border – it’s about who dares to speak up.
That’s why it’s urgent that we continue to gather in opposition to these efforts whenever possible. We must engage in strategic community defense to protect immigrant and undocumented leaders, demand due process, and call out how dissent is being criminalized.
At this crucial time in our lives, when everything is so desperate, when every day is a matter of survival, I don’t think you can help but be involved.
– Nina Simone, civil rights activist, singer, songwriter, and pianist
Taking Small Steps Forward, Together
The MAGA movement wants us to give up and give in – to accept their actions and lean into the chaos and fear they’ve sown. With so many unknowns, it’s easy to get trapped in the spiral of “what now?”. That’s why we’re focusing on taking small sparks of action that get us closer to community and liberation. We can come together and take the next steps to ensure that vulnerable communities are kept from harm. This can look like:
- Getting trained on various online community defense strategies
- Joining a political home and get organized
- Encouraging your union to negotiate contract language protects non-citizen workers
- Creating protest art through graphics, music, merchandise, videos, writing, and more
There is room for all of us to show up with our countless skills and talents, committing to taking the next couple small steps. With all that’s on the line, the promise to seek change for our communities, and within ourselves, is a precious and powerful way to fight back.