Senate Democrats and Expert Witnesses Expose Harm of Trump’s Mass Deportation Plans
10 DEC 2024
Proposed Mass Deportation Plan Could Separate 4.5 Million U.S. Citizen Children from Their Families, Targeting Immigrants Who Have Lived, Worked, and Paid Taxes for Decades
Washington, D.C – Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing detailing the devastating consequences of Donald Trump’s proposed plans for mass deportations. Despite claims that efforts will focus only on individuals with serious criminal convictions, Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) emphasized that “we’ve seen how [Trump] operates,” warning that such an operation would inevitably target hardworking, undocumented immigrants—many with decades-long economic and familial ties to the U.S. In effect, up to 4.5 million U.S.-born children could be separated from their parents, far eclipsing the scale of family separation enacted under Trump’s first term.
Witnesses and lawmakers spoke to both the human and economic toll of deporting up to 11 million long-settled undocumented immigrants, including Dreamers, farmworkers, and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) beneficiaries. Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, Senior Fellow at the American Immigration Council, pushed back against the disinformation fueling Trump’s proposals, debunking false claims that deportations would boost public safety or improve the economy. Philadelphia Assistant District Attorney Foday Turay further warned, “When you have ICE agents patrolling courthouses and police stations, you create a category of people who are less willing to report crimes and less willing to cooperate with law enforcement in solving crimes.”
Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, underscored the broader implications of deploying the military to conduct mass deportations on U.S. soil, suggesting that “using our military for [mass deportations]…would have a damaging impact on the morale of the troops–rounding up people in their own communities at a time when we’re already facing the most serious recruitment challenge in years.”
Polls consistently show that voters reject mass deportation policies (39% support) in favor of a pathway to citizenship for long-settled immigrants (61% support). As Trump’s team continues to ramp up these harmful plans, congressional champions must stay the course, standing with immigrant communities and pushing for real solutions that strengthen families and our economy.
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The Immigration Hub is a national organization dedicated to advancing fair and just immigration policies through strategic leadership, innovative communications strategies, legislative advocacy and collaborative partnerships.
