CalMatters
By Wendy Fry, CalMatters
California immigrant advocates and state officials are bracing for what they describe as the likely massive impact of a second Trump presidency on border policies — vowing to fight his plans in court even as they remain uncertain which will make it from the campaign trail to reality.
Trump has pledged to conduct the largest mass deportation campaign in U.S. history on Jan. 20 when he takes office; threatened to impose tariffs on Mexico if it doesn’t stop the northbound flow of migrants and fentanyl; and described plans to use the military as part of his crackdown, contemplating deploying the National Guard to aid in deportations if necessary.
“We’re going to have to seal up those borders, and we’re going to have to let people come into our country,” said the president-elect during his acceptance remarks Tuesday. “We want people to come back in, but we have to, we have to let them come back in, but they have to come in legally.”
Lee Gelernt, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union who argued challenges to immigration restrictions during Trump’s first term, said “Many of the policies Trump is advocating and promising, like use of the military, are illegal and we are prepared to challenge them.” An ACLU “roadmap” on Trump’s reelection described plans to push legislators to block deportations and make cuts to Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s detention operations. It also envisioned “a civil rights firewall” to protect immigrants and litigation against deportations.
Other organizations have promised to join the fight.
“We believe Trump when he promises to enact disastrous policies that aim to tear families apart, destabilize communities, and weaken our economy,” said Lindsay Toczylowski, CEO and president of Los Angeles-based Immigrant Defenders Law Center.
“But the U.S. Constitution didn’t disappear overnight. We will use all the tools we have to protect and defend the rights of all immigrants and asylum seekers,” she added.
Those planning to fight Trump’s border policy face the strategic challenge of not knowing if or when each of his myriad border-related proposals will be implemented or how feasible and legal they will turn out to be.
But immigrant advocates said the impact from his election will likely be massive. California is home to more immigrants than any other state in the nation,about 10.6 million people, as well as the most unauthorized immigrants, according to 2022 numbers compiled by the Pew Research Center. Immigrants make up more than a fourth of the state’s population, and nearly half of all children in California have at least one immigrant parent.
“If Donald Trump is successful with deportations, no state will be more impacted from a fiscal perspective, from an economic perspective,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said at a press briefing last week.
“We will use all the tools we have to protect and defend the rights of all immigrants and asylum seekers.” – Lindsay Toczylowski, CEO and president, Immigrant Defenders Law Center
State Attorney General Rob Bonta told CalMatters that his office is prepared to fight, spending the months leading up to the election developing legal strategies.
“The best way to protect California, its values, the rights of our people, is to be prepared so we won’t be flat-footed,” Bonta said days before the election. Bonta’s comments indicate that the state, which sued more than 100 times over Trump’s policies in his first term, will again be a thorn in the president’s side.
Those waiting in Tijuana to cross legally into the United States through CBP One, the federal government’s phone app, worried on Wednesday that their opportunity to seek asylum had already slipped away.
“Sadness,” is what Emir Mesa said she felt when she heard of Trump’s pending victory. The 45-year-old mother and new grandmother from Michoacán said she fled her hometown because of extreme violence there.
“We do not want to enter as illegals,” she said. “That’s why we are here in Tijuana waiting to enter properly, not to be smuggled.” She held her 15-day-old grandchild as she described how her family has been waiting six months at the Movimiento Juventud 2000 migrant shelter, located a stone’s throw from the U.S.-Mexico border.
Trump has said he plans to discontinue the Biden administration’s use of CBP One, through which migrants can apply for asylum in the U.S. But it remains unclear what will happen to people who have already spent months in Mexico on the waiting list for their initial asylum screening appointment.
Impact on U.S. citizens
Trump’s border policies may also have significant impacts on all Californians by disrupting trade and expanding surveillance.
His administration would have to extend the border surveillance apparatus already in place to carry out deportations on the scale he has planned, experts said. Federal authorities have used everything from camera towers to drones to ground sensors and thermal imaging to detect migrants in recent years.
“Given the indiscriminate nature of mass surveillance, it is possible that U.S. citizens and others permanently in the country will also be caught in its web,” said Petra Molnar, a Harvard faculty associate, lawyer and author of the book “The Walls Have Eyes: Surviving Migration in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.”
Trump’s plans for the border also seem poised to reverberate across regional economies and in Mexico.
“We aren’t just trading with Mexico, we’re producing together.” – Jerry Sanders, former mayor of san diego and current CEO of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce
On Monday, Trump said he plans to impose tariffs on Mexico if the country doesn’t stop the northbound flow of migrants and fentanyl. Local business leaders scoffed as they recalled the damage to the border region’s economy during Trump’s first term. The peso slumped to a two-year low.
“It’s important to remember that we aren’t just trading with Mexico, we’re producing together,” said San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce CEO Jerry Sanders, a Republican and former mayor of the border city. “At the end of the day, this would be a tax on U.S. customers and would likely set off a domino effect of other countries imposing retaliatory measures to protect their own interests.”
A massive deportation campaign clearly would impact California’s economy.
Over half of all California workers are immigrants or children of immigrants, and collectively, the state’s undocumented residents paid nearly $8.5 billion in taxes in 2022, playing a key role in stimulating the state’s economy, according to the California Budget & Policy Center and data estimates from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.
This article was originally published by CalMatters.
I can’t resist sharing this quote. I too am in a position to revel in the circus that will burn down — but I detest it.
“It’s a more sophisticated swamp, but it’s crazy. I’ve never seen anything like this. You’ve got all these jamokes from Florida, who have barely ever seen Washington, D.C., talking about how they’re moving up here. People are trying to hire relatives,” said one person who has been observing the spectacle for days. “You go to the club and run into all these creatures.”
“Names are being thrown out all over the place. There isn’t really a functional process — it’s really whoever he just decides to name,” said one person involved.
Others have expressed increasing concerns about the ability of Howard Lutnick, CEO of Wall Street giant Cantor Fitzgerald, to manage the transition while simultaneously fighting his own internal battle for an appointment as Trump’s treasury secretary, said one Trump adviser.
“It’s hard to argue that a Putin apologist who is friends with Assad represents conservative foreign policy. It’s hard to argue that someone who wants to get rid of fluoride in your water and favors abortion for all nine months is a conservative family pick,” said Marc Short, a longtime adviser to Pence, referring to Gabbard and Kennedy, respectively, before saying that the Gaetz choice “makes a mockery of the whole Department of Justice — which could be what Trump wants to do — but it’s not really advancing law and order.”
Cheung dismissed Short’s comments as criticism from “people on the outside who have no idea what they are talking about and they represent the establishment political class.”
And so much more!
free link if you’re interested:
https://wapo.st/3YSe0zd
It will be the greatest grift in the history of the USA. Remember that if someone worth a billion or hundreds of millions accepts a cabinet level post they can sell their holdings off tax deferred
Corruption, corruption, corruption.
Absolutely! As is said, this is just the tip of the iceberg and it simply is going to get worse and worse. I really hope the next four years goes by fast.
Stop crying, you won. Just relax and enjoy your cheap gas and groceries that will definitely totally happen when your guy imposes vengeful tariffs and deports all the hard working, low earning immigrants.
“Why do we support a government that reinforces and supports those who choose to break the law?”
Great question! Why do you support a self admitted and adjudicated sexual assaulter and convicted felon to be the leader of that government?
Come on, answer it. You elected a convicted criminal and seriously ask this question? Jesus, I honestly can’t think of anything dumber than this.
DOULIE – give it a try. You’ve never once, not once answered a question here. Well, at least not directly.
The people have spoken.
Unfortunately, the ignorant spoke loudest.
The Sadness is the Democrats and their media enablers are trying to make sense of last Tuesday’s election – the biggest shift to the right since Ronald Reagan became president in 1980 – searching for where they went wrong.
The main disconnect is that they fail to acknowledge that tens of millions of Americans actually like Donald Trump; many even love him. Democrats are so blinded by hatred they literally cannot fathom that Trump is personally popular.
Despite Trump’s past, voters acknowledge the Biden administration weaponizing the government to degrade president Trump, which failed miserably only galvanizing support.
He is a patriot and will do what it takes to benefit hard working Americans, and the voters agreed.
Regarding mass deportations, allowing criminals to walk free is dangerous; even the voters in ultra-liberal Southern California agree and booted progressive DA George Gascon in a landslide. Common-sense voters chose Donald Trump to stop the progressive nonsense, like prioritizing DEI practices in the military, and he will.
Liberals cannot comprehend that Trump is authentic. You may not like what he says, but it’s pretty clear that he is telling you what he thinks. Polling showed that voters thought Trump meant what he said; that was not true for Kamala Harris.
“Democrats are so blinded by hatred they literally cannot fathom that Trump is personally popular.” – Nah, it’s not that. It’s that we’re saddened that so many think a racist sex assaulter who was impeached twice and convicted of felonies is a good person. It goes against all the values we were taught (and hopefully you were taught) to hold dear.
It’s sadness really, not hate. Although I do, completely hate those who discriminate/hate others for the way they were born. I’m a proud hater of bigots.
Your comments read like outlier data points from “The strategic role of language abstraction in achieving symbolic and practical goals.” I love watching research results replicated in realtime on the internet. lol
SURFGOOSE – not sure what about my comment is not unequivocal or in any way “abstract.” I’m pretty straight forward about my feelings on this topic.
So many words. All you need to say is “Proud to be a sucker.”
Trump is a con man and you bought it.
Will you continue to call Trump a “con man” once you begin benefitting from his work on behalf of all Americans?
LOL Doulie.
a.). I will benefit. I know that and I’ve stated it repeatedly in the past. I know that’s hard for you.
b.). Yep, he is a con man. Always has been and always will be. The fact that he is going to soak the lower and middle classed with continued tax benefit for the 3% and above revenue earners in this country (me) while pandering to the desperation and fear of those less fortunate than me is one of the greatest cons this country has ever seen.
c.). I’ve known who and what Trump is since the 90’s. I made my money in Hollywood in the early to late 2000s during The Apprentice and I am one degree away from him via my peers.
d.). You better hydrate so you can bootlick the billionaires for the next four years.
I’m with you!
Doulie, I’ll never stop criticizing tRump. Any increase in my dividends allow me to give more to my elderly friend and pay for health care, specifically women’s care, for more people. And to donate to causes that fight tRump in the courts and to give to Unity Shoppe and other local support systems.
DOULIE – “on behalf of all Americans?” Dude, do you not read the news or know anything about America? He’s about to appoint Representative Lee Zeldin to head the EPA. That guy voted against the Clean Air Act. Now explain who “all Americans” will benefit from an environment that is no longer protected?
How clueless are you people? Like seriously, do you all do anything other than taking selfies in your trucks with sunglasses and baseball caps on?
Sac – I’m a part of the millions of Americans that presented a mandate to Trump, meaning I support his policies & everything he said he was going to do. And yes, I read where Zeldin was picked to lead the EPA. I believe the garbage truck photo Trump used in context with the “garbage” comment by Biden was outstanding.
DOOLY – it’s hardly a “mandate.” Trump received only 50% of the popular vote, in which only 64% of Americans actually voted.
You can do the math.
DOULIE – so you support racism, sexual assault, taking away women’s right to choose, changing history books, taking rights away from trans people, etc? Those are awful things to support and embrace. Disgusting, really. No, not a difference of opinion, just wrong.
Yeah, your facebook profile pic is definitely a selfie in a truck.
The people have spoken. Running people down does nothing but shoot yourself in the foot.
House, Senate, POTUS & Popular vote . .. America HAS spoken.
Ignorant America, yes.
Well, less than 51% of the 64% of America that voted has spoken. Not really a mandate there LOL
Data shows that the majority of people who voted for Trump are uneducated whites. So, the stupidest and racist of our country elected him. Time will soon tell how dumb all of you uneducated whites truly are.
Yah Yah Yah, we are ignorant while you know everything.
Data shows many facets of society voted for Trump, you are grasping at straws Scarecrow.
Please continue calling all voters dumb, ignorant, garbage – just proving my point, over and over.
Actually, your comments tend to reinforce that belief. Carry on!
KA – If people “liked” Trump, he wouldn’t have to run every campaign as a referendum on the other side. Even Trump supporters admit they don’t “like” him; they have just been convinced that “woke” (a lightning rod that no one seems to know what it is, but they’re against it) is so scary they even vote for a man they dislike. What happens when prices don’t come down (and they won’t), and all of his other vague generalities don’t happen. Will they admit they were duped, or just double down?
Mass deportations of 10 million are unnecessary, costly and impossible. What should be done is enforcing very steep fines for hiring illegals. Say $10,000 per employee per day. Word will spread and the law will be self enforcing. In short order the 10 million will be unemployed and have no choice but to self deport. At no expense, and some fine income generated.
RUBY – I actually agree for the most part with you here. The mass deportations he’s promising will likely be another of his failed promises because it’s so absurd. Remember how Mexico was going to pay for wall?
Overall though, I think the fear and hatred towards the hard working undocumented population is just silly. They contribute billions, that’s with a “b,” to our state and country in taxes every year and are still treated like crap. They keep our food prices low by doing the farm work jobs that no one else will do for that little.
By all means, find and deport the criminals, but that’s a tiny percentage of the entire undocumented population. Once again, fear and racism were/are exploited by the Con in Chief to rile people up while it’s common knowledge that US citizens have a much higher crime rate % than undocumented immigrants do.
But be aware, if you truly remove their labor form our economy, it’s going to rock us.
Latino voters took a big right turn in an election dominated by voter outrage over the high cost of food and housing, helping Donald Trump secure a second term in the White House.
Vice President Kamala Harris finished with a slim majority of support from Hispanic voters, at 53%, while Trump vacuumed up about 45% of the vote, a 13-point increase from 2020 and a record high for a Republican presidential nominee, according to NBC News exit polls.
Oh, for sure, that’s super realistic. People who walked here to escape poverty are going to self deport from a place with a lot of resources to a place with very few resources.
Nah. They will just end up living next to the freeways and rivers. And then ag employers will not have enough people to pick our food which will become far more expensive than it is now.
You think we have a homeless problem now? LOL
Even legal immigrants want the illegals deported. They are taking jobs away from legal immigrants who work in the ag fields and providing legally for their families.
Sorry, but I do not find the homeless issue funny like you do.
Adding more people to the population does not make matters better . . .
The sock puppets are out in force. Different handles from the same IP.
I’m not laughing at the homeless, I’m laughing at the morons who don’t understand that trying to deport ten million people will put hundreds of thousands more people into our homeless population.
The plan seems to be to deport hardened, convicted criminals and terrorists. I see nothing wrong with that.
ANON – then why is he saying they’re going to deport millions? There’s not that many “terrorists” (if any) or convicted criminals that are illegally here. He’s very clear – he plans to deport ALL undocumented immigrants.
Many more citizens in that category than immigrants.
ANON – Where did you hear that? The plan is to deport EVERY undocumented resident. Most are hardworking people trying to stay under the radar; if anything, they are conspicuously legal in their lifestyles. Many have been here for decades. Unemployment is at a record low, jobs are available. Whose jobs are supposedly being taken? Would YOU wash dishes at one of our many eateries? Clean toilets at one of our luxury hotels? There are many other examples of businesses which depend on the labor provided. Were you even award that the Haitians in Springfield (“they’re eating the dogs!”) were there because the community requested them? They didn’t have the workers to support their industrial economy. (And, no – no one was eating dogs.)
The actual numbers of crimes committed by these people are a fraction of 1% of crimes committed by legal residents. Trump may go after those who have been through the criminal justice first because it’s low hanging fruit, but he wouldn’t need the military for that. A word of advice for those whose skin may be brown: always carry your papers!
If a business cannot survive following the law and paying a market wage, its not a viable business.
We need to stop subsidizing the profits of businesses by allowing them to exploit humans for cheap labor. The only reason many of these businesses survive, is cheap immigrant labor. Labor that is kept cheap by an ever growing number of people willing to thwart the rule of law and lie and cheat to live and work here. These people send the overwhelming majority of their earnings back to their home country. So no, these people are not contributing to society, they’re sending billions out of the country. This is money that is never spent in the community, never invested in our society. Its gone, never to be seen again. A drain.
When the supply of people who are willing to work for such low wages decreases, the wages will rise for those who follow the rule of law and pay their fair share of taxes. When we have a community of commuters and immigrants, the majority of all dollars spent in SB go out of our community. Whether its to Ventura Co or Mexico its not spent in our city or our county. Its not recycled here and not invested here. Its gone.
Think about that for a few before you shout me down.
As always: Follow the money. Almost every single so-called laborer, is here to earn more and send it home to their family. Nothing about that is good for Santa Barbara. That is unless you only care about profits and tax rolls. Then by all measure, keep ignoring the problem and let the cheaters continue to cheat.
Are you saying that paying the minimum wage exploits workers? No wonder most people don’t want to work for it. Maybe the minimum wage should be raised, don’t you think? Do you really believe that bars and restaurants and hotels will simply raise wages to attract (let’s say it) white workers? Good luck with that – it would take more of an increase than they could possibly pay and remain in business. Even if they paid those high wages, costs would have to increase. You think a restaurant meal is expensive now? Like it or not, we depend on immigrant labor – and “mass deportations” will leave a serious vacuum in the labor force.
Let the condescending comments continue! You stupid voters! You don’t even know what’s best for you. Leave it up to the average Santa Barbara voter to make your decisions for you – we’re white, highly-educated (you’re not), and so well off we don’t worry about money. You know groceries, gas, taxes, healthcare. We got that so wired around here that we can spend all day online farting around. lol
Obviously, you’re speaking for yourself!
Nope, Basic is correct. Most Americans see the issue with the cost of living, obviously you do not.
Nope. Most Americans are too dumb. They don’t understand basic economics and are gullible to fear mongering and propaganda. We have not fully evolved, as history shows.
FACT
Since 1933, the economy has grown at an annual average rate of 4.6 percent under Democratic presidents and 2.4 percent under Republicans.
Now imagine how much the economy would grow if Democrats didn’t need to clean up the mess Repubs keep making every time they have some political control.
Democratic leaders invest in blue collar workers, lower income families, small businesses, and the middle class. History shows this benefits America as a whole and improves our economy. But Republicans have a better marketing campaign of fear, division, religious scare tactics, and all the phobias and isms so the lesser educated fall for it over and over and over again.
Biden’s admin brought the economy back after Trump and COVID demolished it, yet their marketing is crap and Americans are dumb, therefore no one cares. But we reap what we sow and the bigger question is are these dumb trumpers going to turn on him when prices increase, economy tanks, small businesses collapse, and everything is privatized… or will they stay the course of ignorance and double down on the endless BS he and his jamokes keep spewing.
SBsurferlife says “most Americans are too dumb”. Nice, girl, that’s a harsh attitude. Elitist self-proclaimed ‘Surferlife’ type from SB calling out the majority of Americans for being dumb. Your words! Maybe we should fix our education system to teach folks reading, writing, and math, rather than the woke, DEI, and he/she/him/her stuff they’re currently getting diverted into? What do you think? I know what you think…
Yes. My opinion based on polling and data on voters is that the majority of uneducated people (specifically white people) vote for Republicans. So my opinion is that most people who voted for Trump fall into one more categories: uneducated (dumb, easily scared, cannot critically think, believes conspiracies, etc), racist/sexist/bigoted, or a billionaire that will benefit from massive tax breaks.
Basic, based on your uneducated DEI comment, I’d say you fall into 2 of the 3 categories.
SBSURFER – absolutely correct. It’s pretty well known data. Also, we all know he’s not a billionaire, so…….
Oh, absolutely, the cost of living issues in this country and the lack of upward economic mobility are extremely significant.
The fact that people think bootlicking billionaires will somehow result in an economic “trickle down” is the “stupid voter” part of the equation. Bezos and Musk have already increased their net worth by many billions, the MAGA cult are so happy for them!! The bottom 97% will be worse off at the end of this. Oh well.
Facts are facts doc. Numerous studies and data show the more educated a voter is, the more likely they are to vote liberal and progressive. Of course there are always outliers like white dudes on comment boards that are technically doctors but basically glorified physical therapists that will support fascist policies.
Ouch, calling me a PT?! That hurts man. lol. It’s easy to make up bs online isn’t it? I think you missed my point and went straight to insult mode as usual. Useless.
I stated facts, but you’re allowed to have your feelings.
Anon lost it on Nov. 5th, and will likely never return to reality . .. without PT.
There’s no need to get overly emotional Ka Pono, but now that you mention it, my shoulders are a bit sore from carrying all this extra knowledge, compassion, and empathy that you seem to lack. Ignorance is bliss.
Wow, complete meltdown from Anon.
Again, he is right, everyone else is dumb. Classic.
Actually, nobody ever said that everyone else is dumb – they just stated that people who don’t vote based on facts are stupid. The fact that you immediately flew off the handle just shows that when you throw a rock into a pack of stray dogs, the one that yelps is the one that got hit.
Facebook is better suited for you, lots of fragile and overly emotional yt’s there you can talk to.
“It’s easy to make up bs online isn’t it?”
It sure is, Doctor Ranger Captain Two Boats. It sure is……
“You know groceries, gas, taxes, healthcare. ”
Hey, Doc. Speaking of healthcare, how do you feel about your patients losing access to it?
Also, groceries? How much you think they’re gonna cost when your guy deports most of our nation’s farm laborers?
It’s funny how you rant against who you perceive to be white, highly educated and financially sound commenters. It’s almost as if you didn’t “grow up in Montecito” and work as a “doctor” at UCSB who owns not one, but “2 boats.”
Weird….
Funny, Sac – you are not even from here? Weird.
Another non sequitur.
Where did I say I’m not from here? On the contrary, I’ve mentioned that I’m a native many, many times.
Unlike the guy who pretends to have a “Hawaiian” handle. JONATHAN KENNEDY, you’re hilarious!