On Jan. 20, 2025, Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 47th president of the United States of America, and he immediately began to address illegal immigration.
Trump declared a national emergency at the southern border of the U.S. He promised mass deportations and halted those seeking asylum.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers started their raids in Chicago on Jan. 26, resulting in the arrests of 956 people, according to ABC News. The Trump Administration has stated that they are targeting criminals with deportation warrants. According to former ICE Deputy Director Tom Homan, who is now the designated border czar and was in Chicago during the raid, multiple criminals were arrested, including gang members and sex offenders.
One of Trump’s most controversial decisions is his executive order allowing ICE agents to detain illegal immigrants in “sensitive” areas, like hospitals, places of worship and schools.
“The Trump Administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement, and instead trusts them to use common sense,” former Homeland Security secretary Benjamine Huffman said in a press statement.
Schools and administrative teams throughout the country are preparing their response for potential ICE raids, including Kaneland Community Unit School District 302.
“We require a warrant or parental approval for any legal intervention with a student,” Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kurt Rohlwing said.
Trump opened a detention center in Guantanamo Bay to hold 30,000 migrants, and the first flight of high-threat illegal immigrants arrived on Feb. 5. Guantanamo Bay is a naval base in Cuba that currently houses 15 military prisoners, according to The New York Times. Migrants are expected to be held in a detention center for people intercepted by the Coast Guard. But the facility is in disrepair and would need money from Congress for construction and food costs. Trump said that migrants will be held there “temporarily,” but it is unclear how long migrants will wait until they are sent to other countries.
“It does not give the United States the right to put them in a legal black hole in an offshore prison just to get them out of sight and out of mind,” Vincent Warren, the executive director of the Center for Constitutional Rights, said in an interview with National Public Radio (NPR). “That’s not something that human rights law would allow.”
Trump’s policies could impact the U.S. economy, which relies in part on immigrants for labor. The construction, agriculture and hospitality industries employ over two million undocumented workers. Mass deportations could lead to a labor shortage and higher food prices.
The effects of Trump’s new policies are uncertain, but they will be tied to his legacy forever.
