Well, doomsday has officially passed, and Americans across the United States are now living in one of two realities: optimistic hope for the country or a ticking clock that is ready to sound off when a guaranteed freedom is stripped away from an individual or community.
Shutting down the Department of Education, revoking women’s reproductive rights and the planned destruction that the freedom of press could face are some of the threats that this country will endure these next four years under President Donald Trump’s second term.
Yet, one of the Trump administration’s main focuses is on a community of people who quite literally built this country from the ground up: immigrants. Trump threatened to enact the largest mass deportation ever in the U.S. on Day 1 of his presidency, and immigrant communities are preparing for the worst.
It can be a frightening idea to leave the country involuntarily — designating trusted friends as your power of attorney, creating childcare plans in case of separation and installing security cameras on your front door in case U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrives. From coast to coast, immigrants are experiencing these unfortunate realities right now.
The expansion of the expedited removal program does not only speed up the process of mass deportation, it allows raids to take place within neighborhoods and workplaces. So, regardless of where immigrants may be, they will be targets subjected to unjustified acts like arrest, detainment or deportation.
This “top priority” of Trump’s has been kept secret for a while, with him telling NBC News on Jan. 18 that he doesn’t want to reveal details and wants Americans to “see it firsthand.” Additionally, ICE has performed collateral arrests in the past and Trump officials have vowed to continue the practice, amping up the serious consequences this act will have.
Several sanctuary cities, which limit police involvement with federal immigration agents, are on Trump’s list of places to deport immigrants in mass quantities, including Chicago. Now, as plans are under reconsideration, this reality is more frightening than ever before.
In a visit to Chicago in December 2024, Trump’s “border czar” Tom Homan promised that the third largest city in the U.S. would be the first place in which the mass deportations will take place. Chicago has received around 40,000 asylum seekers directly from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and other conservative leaders since August of 2022.
Representatives Jesus “Chuy” Garcia (D-Ill.) and Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.) joined Chicago-based immigrant advocates on Jan. 18 to inform local immigrants about legal workshops, urging them to remain calm during this time and to exercise their rights to remain silent as well as to refuse officers’ entry into their homes without a warrant.
With these heartbreaking realities immigrants are faced with, one must ask the question: “Why are immigrants being scrutinized heavily in today’s society?” The spread of misinformation, disinformation and xenophobic ideologies have led America to become a country that hates its past.
According to the Cato Institute, between 1783 and 2019, over 86 million immigrants entered the U.S. for a variety of reasons. Whether it was job shortages, famine or war, the U.S. was seen as the home for flourishing opportunities. Most of these immigrants came from Ireland, Germany and England.
Yet, as the immigrant population increased in the 19th century, it wasn’t until 1891 that the Office of Immigration was created, which began the oversight of immigration on a federal level. Naturalization, immigration enforcement and border security became top priorities of various presidential administrations over the years.
In recent years, the influx of immigrants from the Global South has impacted population numbers drastically, with Republican politicians blaming immigrants for filling blue-collar jobs and a “sudden rise” in crime, allowing blue-collar jobs to be filled and crime to rise in major cities. These two truths are present in everyday life, but politicians like Trump use violence, threats and stories of near-death experiences to instill fear into Americans. Yet, two things can co-exist at the same time.
In my life, I have been surrounded by immigrants who came to the U.S. to support their families back home in México, Colombia and El Salvador. Not only did they make it their mission to sacrifice their mental, emotional and physical well-being for their families, they also came here for opportunities that weren’t available back home.
With these important figures in my childhood, I learned the importance of taking a risk for your family, not being afraid of the unknown and embracing your heritage no matter where you are.
Even though this is just the beginning of this second term, allyship, advocacy and support are crucial for immigrant communities. Organizations such as the National Immigrant Justice Center and United We Dream provide incredible resources for those who are targets of this administration.
One of my favorite sayings that my close friend, Antonio, says to me every time I see him back home in Colorado is “hay que seguir la lucha, pase lo que pase.” In other words, we must continue the fight, no matter what happens. Stay strong, stay resilient and stay informed.
Alexander Hernandez Gonzalez is a Medill sophomore. He can be contacted at [email protected]. If you would like to respond publicly to this op-ed, send a Letter to the Editor to [email protected]. The views expressed in this piece do not necessarily reflect the views of all staff members of The Daily Northwestern.