Trump’s Speech is a Smokescreen for an All-Out Assault on Democracy and Families

Washington, D.C. – Tonight, President Trump will address a joint session of Congress, six weeks into an administration that has already unleashed an unprecedented and cruel transformation of the immigration system and democratic norms. Under his orders, mass raids have turned homes, schools, and workplaces into hunting grounds, children separated from their loved ones, and an atmosphere of relentless fear has left students too afraid to attend class, patients avoiding hospitals, and businesses scrambling to fill jobs as workers disappear overnight. This isn’t just a policy shift—it’s a full-scale assault on American communities and democracy itself, one that is deliberately destabilizing families, industries, and local economies. Trump and Republicans’ $350 billion agenda doesn’t just shatter lives—it’s putting the country on the fast track to economic collapse, threatening the $579.1 billion that undocumented immigrants contribute to the U.S. economy each year.

Read the memo.

Statement from Beatriz Lopez, Co-Executive Director of the Immigration Hub:

“In less than six weeks, Trump has constructed a precarious house of cards. He has eliminated thousands of American jobs under the guise of government efficiency, issued executive orders targeting immigrants and dissenters, and ignited a tariff war supposedly to secure borders. This strategy creates a dangerous domino effect that will ultimately force working families to pay the price as Trump and his allies consolidate power and profit.

“Trump will nevertheless try to sell the American people on a lie—one built on making immigrants the enemies. After all, he and his allies have spent billions to construct this false narrative in an attempt to normalize the extreme measures of today. From indefinite detention, mass deportations and family separations to terminations of protections, undemocratic surveillance and cutting off aid to the most vulnerable countries, Trump isn’t solving any broken systems, he’s creating problems that will impact generations of Americans.

“He’ll boast about supposed victories while hiding their true cost: stripped healthcare, food assistance, and education funding. Behind his immigration rhetoric lies an attempt to control and dismantle democracy, encouraging red states to take ‘justice’ into their own hands, with Texas leading and Florida following. Soon, no neighborhood in America will be immune from this level of enforcement or sanctioned terror.

“Governor Kristi Noem was right about one thing: there will be consequences – but not just for immigrants. Democracy will pay the price. Trump’s agenda threatens to fundamentally alter America. Congress should not concede to fund his agenda, the public must remain vigilant, and we must fight back before it’s too late.”

Read the memo or see below.

To: Interested Parties
From: Immigration Hub
Date: March 4, 2025
Re: State of Trump’s Mass Deportation Agenda: 800,000 Lost Protections, $1 Trillion at Stake

In its first month, the Trump administration has stripped 800,000 hardworking individuals of their legal protections from deportation and the ability to work and contribute to this country—people striving to build their American dreams now thrown into uncertainty. This mass revocation of status isn’t just an attack on immigrant families—it’s an economic disaster in the making. If Trump secures his $350 billion blank check from Congress, on top of the $579.1 billion potentially in lost economic contributions if all undocumented immigrants were deported, the U.S. risks plunging itself into a trillion-dollar hole—driven by cruelty alone. As the administration accelerates its mass deportation machine, what we’ve seen in this first month is only the beginning.

Below is a categorized breakdown of key executive actions to date—explore in-depth memos on these actions here.

800,000 Stripped of Protections, $1 Trillion at Stake

• ICE effort to deport unaccompanied children (2/23/25): A new memo directs ICE officers to track and remove unaccompanied children who have missed immigration hearings, prioritizing those labeled as “flight risks.”
• TPS rollback for Haitians (2/20/25): DHS announced the termination of TPS protections for 500,000 Haitians by August 2025, despite ongoing humanitarian crises.
• DED for Hong Kong residents (2/18/25): Trump administration weakens deportation protections for Hong Kong residents by denying extensions for work authorization.
• DOJ memo on immigration prosecutions (2/5/25): Directs aggressive prosecution of immigration violations, including harboring undocumented immigrants and enforcing penalties against jurisdictions that refuse to cooperate with ICE.
• Parole revocation for CHNV program (2/1/25): DHS signals intent to revoke parole status for hundreds of thousands of people who were lawfully admitted, putting them at risk of deportation.
• Termination of TPS for Venezuelans (2/5/25): Strips deportation protections and work permits from 300,000 Venezuelans.
• ICE arrest quotas (1/26/25): Reports indicate ICE is now required to make 1,200–1,500 arrests per day.
• Expansion of expedited removal (1/21/25): Extends expedited removal to noncitizens present in the U.S. for less than two years.
• Rescinding protected areas policy (1/20/25): Eliminates protections against enforcement in schools, hospitals, and churches, forcing immigrant families to avoid critical services.

Turning the U.S. Into a Detention State: More Prisons, More Manpower, More Fear

• Military detention network (2/21/25): Plans to establish immigrant detention centers on military bases, with Fort Bliss expected to hold 10,000 individuals.
• Deputizing IRS agents for immigration enforcement (2/10/25): DHS asks IRS officers to assist with worksite enforcement and arrests.
• Banning CBP body cameras (2/5/25): CBP officers ordered to stop using body-worn cameras, removing an accountability measure for reported abuses.
• Guantanamo Bay detention expansion (1/29/25): Migrant Operations Center at Guantanamo Bay expanded to hold up to 30,000 migrants, including nonviolent individuals.
• 1,500 additional troops at the border (1/22/25): Military deployment to construct physical barriers and assist with enforcement.

Criminalizing Compassion: Targeting Local Governments and Community Organizations

• Defunding NGOs assisting immigrants (2/6/25): Orders a review of all federal funding for NGOs providing aid to immigrants.
• Threats to sanctuary cities (2/5/25): DOJ halts federal grants for jurisdictions that limit cooperation with ICE, while pausing funding for NGOs that assist undocumented immigrants.
• Transportation funding tied to immigration compliance (1/29/25): DOT threatens to cut federal transportation funds to jurisdictions that do not cooperate with ICE.
• Declaring “mass influx” of immigrants (1/23/25): DHS claims an emergency to justify increased state and local cooperation in immigration enforcement.

Closing America’s Doors: Shutting Down Legal Pathways and Humanitarian Protections

• Requiring fingerprints for sponsors of unaccompanied children (2/14/25): New background checks discourage potential sponsors from taking in migrant children.
• Shutting down refugee resettlement programs (1/24/25): Resettlement agencies ordered to stop assisting refugees already in the U.S.
• Closing Safe Mobility Initiative offices (1/23/25): Ends legal pathways for migrants to apply for humanitarian protections from abroad.
• Reinstating Migrant Protection Protocols (1/21/25): Requires asylum seekers to wait in Mexico for their court hearings, exposing them to dangerous conditions.

Burying Immigrants in Bureaucracy: New Barriers to Relief and Due Process

• HHS stops legal services for unaccompanied children (2/18/25): Briefly halts legal representation for 26,000 migrant children before reversing decision.
• Stricter visa renewal policies (2/18/25): Shortens the eligibility period for nonimmigrant visa interview waivers.
• Firing of immigration judges (2/15/25): Removes 20 immigration judges amid a 3.7 million case backlog, slowing asylum processing.
• Eliminating Friends of the Court program (2/4/25): Ends support system assisting unrepresented immigrants in court.
• Restricting asylum processing (2/3/25): Reinstitutes procedural barriers that delay work authorization and asylum claims.

Weaponizing Poverty and Fear: Pushing Immigrants to Self-Deport

• EO restricting benefits for undocumented immigrants (2/19/25): Directs federal agencies to cut access to public programs and limit state funding for services that support immigrants.

Bottomline: The measures outlined above are not just policy shifts—they are an orchestrated effort to make life unlivable for millions, to push immigrant families deeper into the shadows, and to remake the U.S. immigration system into a machine of mass expulsion. The effects will ripple far beyond those directly impacted, disrupting industries, eroding community trust, and deepening economic and social instability. This is just the beginning. Without a forceful response, the next wave will be even more devastating.

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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.