Photo by Kena Betancur, AFP/Getty Images
Since the Trump Administration took office on January 20, 2025, new immigration policy continues to take effect. Many U.S. residents are being affected by this policy change, and discussions have been sparked across the nation.
Those in support of the Trump Administration’s rhetoric claim immigration policy reform as long overdue, while those in opposition fear it may damage the livelihoods of innocent people.
Trump’s 2016-2020 presidency had among the most restrictive immigration policy in recent history. The administration most notably rescinded the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA) policy, changed requirements for visa holders, and placed travel restrictions on eight countries, all reinforcing the assertion that Trump wants to “crack down” on immigration policy.
This year, the Trump Administration has continued with its legacy of making significant changes. The administration has made moves from seeking to end birthright citizenship to ending humanitarian aid programs at the border.
Nathan Kotas, a law professor and the director of DSC’s paralegal program, worked as a civil litigation attorney for about 20 years. He feels that Trump’s initiatives to “remove discretion” in cases where the law allows for discretion can do a lot of harm.
“That’s trouble because this is supposed to be a just system and a system that is just is a system that gives these judges or gives people discretion and the ability to make decisions when they have it,” he said.
The administration’s language about immigrants is dehumanizing. “The people that came in, they’re eating the cats… They’re eating the pets of the people that live there,” Trump said, insinuating that immigrants eat American families’ pets. There is no evidence that supports the situation he is referring to.
At the 2015 Fox Business Network’s Republican presidential primary, he insinuated that Dwight Eisenhower was a “nice guy” for moving “a million and a half people out of the United States.”
Samanta Gonzalez is the president of the Democratic Club at DSC and identifies deeply with her Mexican culture. She said that she has observed immense fear amongst her community. She noticed that “people weren’t going out as much.”
“People are scared to leave their houses even though they know that they don’t have a criminal record” she said.
The United States is a diverse, multi-racial and multicultural nation and statements like these only serve to divide and harm society. Rhetoric like this coming from the President may scare minority individuals who are not criminals.
“I know that some people in the [immigrant] community have self-deported or are planning to self-deport,” said Gonzalez.
Kotas sees a picture coming forth in media that indicated that if you’re not from America, you are not welcome and need to leave.
“I think that there’s a more positive way to send that message,” he said. The message that America is built on the rule of law which welcomes legal immigration.