Donald Trump had promised sweeping deportations should he secure victory in the US Presidential elections.
As the reality kicks in that he secured a sizable win over Vice President Kamala Harris, its left to be seen if he will follow through with these threats.
There are mixed views on these threats from a Jamaican standpoint.
Speaking in an article published in the Jamaica gleaner on Sunday, Florida based immigration lawyer Wayne Golding said that Jamaicans should be concerned about Trump’s stated intention.
“Messing with immigration laws by executive order should be of concern to all of us, not only those who are out of status but their family members also"
Golding said that there are some guardrails that could prevail against mass deportation, and a group of attorneys are preparing to go to court to safeguard the rights of immigrants.
“Jamaicans should not thumb their noses and say, ‘nothing is going to happen’, because this could affect the filing for family members and other relatives, separating loved ones from children in the United States. So it is important that people get proper legal advice,”.
Golding said a programme of mass deportations could see citizens and legal residents also getting swept up in operations.
Speaking in the same Gleaner article, head of the Queens-based Caribbean Immigration Services, Irwin Clare said the promised sweeps should not be taken lightly.
“Jamaicans should take the promise of mass deportation seriously, especially Dreamers whose information are on file and they are easy to find,” he said.
Clare said that while people should be worried, they should not be fearful to the point of going further underground.
He pointed out that, if local police officers are given immigration powers, many innocent people could be caught up in the deportation sweeps because they would not know whose status is legal.
He added that, under Project 2025, a policy document setting out an agenda for a new Trump administration, the denaturalisation of citizens could also take place. This could impact family reunifications and also lead to self-deportation.
However, New York-based attorney Winston Tucker does not think Trump could carry out his stated intention of mass deportation and he campaigned on a bluster, to create fear in the immigrant communities.
Tucker pointed to due process, where someone has to be taken before a court before that person can be deported.
He said the government would likely not have the resources to carry out such a programme. Further, the system is overburdened currently and there are not enough immigration judges and lawyers to handle such a surge in cases.
On second thought, it will be quite a task on him. Can you imagine he pulls a documented citizen from a surgery, like a nurse or a doctor, It could even be an accountant right in the middle of a procedure, and the patient dies, or the company looses businesses because he suddenly renders a legal person to be illegal; He would have countless lawsuits against him and the USA! It's a terrible thing when someone leaves their country to be in another man's country, and you know that they do not want you there, yet you stay. To all immigrants, we know that this was built on the backs of us, but they dont care. That's why we should…
As daunting as it may be, let's not forget that USA prints their own money. If they are threatening to even " unnaturalize" citizens, then it means s that they will put something in law that gives them the power to do so, even on the merit of " hiw valuable a person is to their economy. It will be rough for everyone, so we should all brace ourselves. Thats why the saying of " nuh throw stone backa yuh." makes sense. I pray this does not happen. Peace & blessings family.