One Year Into the Second Term: Migration Under Siege

TUESDAY, JANUARY 20
PROGRAM #11025 12:00 PM PT

One Year Into the Second Term: Migration Under Siege. 

Twelve months after Donald Trump’s return to the White House, U.S. immigration policy has undergone a drastic transformation. Through mass deportations, the use of archaic statutes, militarized enforcement, and pressure on foreign governments, the administration has hardened its approach toward immigrants, including people with legal status. The impact reaches families, communities, and the national economy. What has changed this year? What lies ahead in year two? Who is accountable for the deaths, arbitrary detentions, and families torn apart by this agenda?

Guests: Maria Blanco, Civil Rights Attorney and Policy Expert, Former Director of the Immigrant Legal Services Center, and Former Professor of Law at the University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA; Ariel Ruiz Soto, Senior Policy Analyst, Migration Policy Institute, Sacramento, CA.

Lawsuits Resisting the Federal Deployment. State and local authorities in Minnesota and Illinois have filed federal lawsuits against the Trump administration, arguing that the mass deployment of immigration agents to Minneapolis and Chicago violates the U.S. Constitution and infringes on states’ rights. As enforcement operations spread fear among residents and workers, networks of community support and resistance are growing. What are the legal grounds for these lawsuits? What trajectory might they follow in court? What is daily life like in cities occupied by thousands of federal agents?

Guest: Yanira Arias, Advocacy and Leadership Organizer, Alianza Americas, San Juan, PR.

New Jersey Strengthens Protections for Immigrants. State lawmakers approved a legislative package aimed at strengthening public trust and protecting immigrant communities from ICE raids. The new laws establish protocols for sensitive locations—schools, health centers, and houses of worship—limit data use and sharing, and restrict voluntary cooperation between local police and federal immigration authorities. How did this legislative package emerge? What are its most significant provisions? How would these laws be implemented?

Guest: Viri Martinez, Deputy Director of Strategy, New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice, Newark, NJ.

Photo: ICE/Flickr

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