Sacramento takes a stand on immigration
Sources from the state capital expressed deep concern and worry regarding President Trump’s new immigration policies.The high influx of illegal immigration has been President Donald Trump’s greatest concern regarding national security. There is a strong divide between Republicans and Democrats on how to deal with the southern border crisis, and we brought some questions to the California State Capitol to see what our state politicians think about this controversial issue.
Trump is delivering on his promises to use Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the military. The extensive use of ICE has been very controversial among Americans. Under Trump, ICE is deporting around one to two thousand people on average every day through raids of public spaces, waiting outside of people’s homes, and other techniques. Trump’s deployment of the military to the border added 1,500 troops to the 2,500 already stationed.
Danna Stapleton, the External Affairs Director for Lt. Governor Eleni Kounalakis stated that “we need to do better at the border,” but also built on what drives illegal immigration. Stapleton stated that the people entering the US illegally mostly come for economic opportunities. She added that immigrants uphold the economy because of their role in the agriculture industry. Overall, Stapleton shared that immigrants give not only a boost to the economy but also to diversity.
When asked if criminals would remain in the United States without Trump’s policies, Natalie Pita, a legislative aide to Assemblymember Mia Bonta, answered, “The current federal administration is defining anyone who is in this country unlawfully as a criminal.” Pita didn’t make any further comment on gang members and violent criminals also being captured by ICE.
While in front of the Capitol, there was a large protest against Trump’s policies, including immigration. Mexican flags along with other South American and international flags were flown in the crowds. Many protester signs also stated to “deport Elon Musk” because of his strong influence on Washington.
At the end of the day, Sacramento was strongly against Trump and his immigration policies, even though Trump’s previous record has outperformed Biden regarding illegal crossings. According to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s official data, Biden had roughly 10 million border encounters throughout his term compared to Trump’s approximate 2 million in his first term. It is important to note that encounters include people legally seeking asylum at ports of entry as well as people being detained for crossing illegally. Per month encounters show that with Trump, the highest month was around 140,000 encounters, yet under Biden, the highest recorded month had over 300,000 encounters. Despite this data, most in the capital still oppose the idea of deportations and believe that undocumented immigrants should be allowed to cross the border and remain in the country.
Regardless, the United States is moving towards an era of substantial mass deportation in which the Democrats, at the moment, have little power in Congress to support their own agenda.