It’s useful to remember that the incoming president says many things. He doesn’t have any actual power until he is inaugurated, and then he will encounter the machine that is the government. It slowed down and stopped some of the plans he tried to implement during his first administration, and it will undoubtedly make some of his announced plans for his second term harder as well.
That hasn’t stopped the media from reporting his threatening plans and disturbing staffing decisions as if everything that can go wrong, will. The concern is absolutely understandable, but Axios’ Avery Lotz observed, he “has sworn to conduct mass deportations starting day one of his presidency—plans immigration experts say could cost hundreds of billions of dollars and have triggered humanitarian worries. The ‘how’ behind the president-elect's proposed crackdown is still murky.”
Similarly, his stated desire to end birthright citizenship is in clear conflict with the 14th Amendment, which reads, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States ad of the State wherein they reside.” It’s not clear how he can change the Constitution through executive action, and less clear how he’ll make that change through conventional means. The specifics of many of the plans floated by him and his nominees have yet to be fleshed out and could well undo or temper many of his planned goals.
Still, it’s smart now for anyone who might be affected by any of the threats to examine their immigration status and that of those they love to see what options exist. Those in the country with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) should absolutely explore their possibilities because living up to his campaign promise to end the program will be something he can do fairly easily.
We’re hearing a lot of panic and fear in phone calls we receive, and we understand it. If he is able to enact all of his immigration-related plans, the upheaval in America and the lives of many living here will be serious. But he has also shown himself to be a bully who likes to see everybody around him jump and react to things he says, and this arena is no different. The fear he creates is part of the point. He wants the possibility of horrific treatment in the U.S. in the popular conversation so that those considering unauthorized entry into the country might change their mind.
We hope it stops at big talk, but we can’t count on that. We also can’t panic. If you have questions or concerns, get help.
Photo by Global Residence Index on Unsplash.
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