An immigration crackdown appears imminent in a second Trump administration at a time when an APVoteCast survey shows the president-elect’s supporters largely focused on immigration and inflation.
This is where I think it will end up. I am optimistic that there will be no camps, because Congress will refuse to fund them. There will be increased deportations though, and not just of illegals. Anyone who is not a citizen but here legally needs to rethink why they are here, immediately. Blue states may throw roadblocks up, but Red states will gladly give them the boot.
There is a narrow way this can backfire, though. Let’s say I am right, and deportations and reverse migrations happen, but mainly in the red states. Blue states welcome the legal immigrants in, smuggle the illegals and DREAMers in a new Underground Railroad, and rebuff the Feds when they come for them, tieing up in the courts. Then, the Democrats figure it out and put up a candidate who can win against the MAGA candidate in 2028.
Guess what? That means that Democratic President runs the census, which is supposed (by the Constitution) to enumerate all persons residing in the US as of April 1, 2030, without regard to citizenship and immigration status. Republicans want to put a Citizenship question on that census, with the goal of eventually disqualifying non-citizens. But if that question is not there, and the full enumeration happens, those Red states will find they didn’t just get rid of immigrants, they got rid of House seats too, because that count is directly used to reapportion Congress.
This is where I think it will end up. I am optimistic that there will be no camps, because Congress will refuse to fund them. There will be increased deportations though, and not just of illegals. Anyone who is not a citizen but here legally needs to rethink why they are here, immediately. Blue states may throw roadblocks up, but Red states will gladly give them the boot.
There is a narrow way this can backfire, though. Let’s say I am right, and deportations and reverse migrations happen, but mainly in the red states. Blue states welcome the legal immigrants in, smuggle the illegals and DREAMers in a new Underground Railroad, and rebuff the Feds when they come for them, tieing up in the courts. Then, the Democrats figure it out and put up a candidate who can win against the MAGA candidate in 2028.
Guess what? That means that Democratic President runs the census, which is supposed (by the Constitution) to enumerate all persons residing in the US as of April 1, 2030, without regard to citizenship and immigration status. Republicans want to put a Citizenship question on that census, with the goal of eventually disqualifying non-citizens. But if that question is not there, and the full enumeration happens, those Red states will find they didn’t just get rid of immigrants, they got rid of House seats too, because that count is directly used to reapportion Congress.