While its clear that we can’t believe nearly any of what Donald Trump says, it does look like he intends to keep his promises when it comes to all of the horrible things he said he would do during the campaign. One need only look at his plans on immigration to know that he absolutely means business—reason and logic be damned.
At CPAC on Friday, Herr Trump had this to say about his plans for immigration enforcement:
“We are getting the bad ones out,” he said while talking about deportations. “These are bad, bad dudes. We are getting bad people out of this country. Whether it’s drugs or murder, we are getting bad people out and I said it from day one. Basically, all I’ve done is keep my promise.”
Let’s take a look at some of the “bad dudes” at risk of removal by Trump’s deportation force, shall we?
Denise Leon—a 20 year-old woman and DACA recipient whose husband, a US citizen, is currently serving in the military. Denise and her husband, William, were applying for her green card through a program called Parole in place (Pip) which allows undocumented, immediate family members of US service members to remain in the country without risk of deportation while they apply for permanent legal status.
Without Pip, spouses like Denise would need to leave the country for 10 years before becoming eligible to re-enter and apply for a visa again. [...]
Denise was approved in November and William [deployed] in January.
[This past week], just two days after a series of memos were released by US Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly detailing how the Trump administration will be carrying out immigration enforcement over the next four years, Denise got a call from her immigration lawyer: under the guidance in the new memos, it appeared that the Parole in Place program had been cancelled.
The parents of Sophie Cruz—the seven year-old daughter of two undocumented parents living in Los Angeles, who gave Pope Francis a letter during his visit to United States in 2015. She said in giving her letter to the Pope, her hope was that he could bring change to US immigration law.
Sophie says she rarely sees her father, because he works many days from 4:30 p.m. to 3 a.m. in a Los Angeles factory. She hopes one day she won’t live in fear that her father could be forced out of the country they call home.
How did she work up the courage to reach the pope? “God made me like that,” she said.
Josue Romero—a 19 year-old student at the Southwest School of Art in San Antonio. Josue, a DACA recipient who has a work permit was arrested with two ounces or less of marijuana. While being in possession of a bit of weed is not exactly the smartest thing he could do, it doesn’t quite qualify him for drug kingpin status. And its well within the norms of 19 year-old college student behavior. What’s more is that, Josue had been in deportation proceedings for several years which seems questionable at best.
“On Feb. 16, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement placed a detainer with Bexar County Jail on Josue Romero-Velasquez, from Honduras,” The agency stated. “He was later transferred to ICE custody.Romero-Velasquez was issued a final order of removal by an immigration judge Dec. 3, 2004. ICE remains focused on smart, effective immigration enforcement that prioritizes threats to national security, public safety and border security.”
If you do the math, that means he was ordered deported around the age of 7. Is deporting 7 year-olds really smart enforcement that protects national security, public safety and border security? Especially since it appears that he was busy drawing and sketching at a young age.
Romero is an alumni of the Say Sí program that provides arts training to urban middle and high school students. Jon Hinojosa, Say Sí’s executive director, said he when he interviewed Romero to join the program nearly eight years ago, he was struck by the middle school student’s portfolio that included Lego models and detailed sketches of art pieces he wanted to create. [...]
“He’s an amazing sculptor, he’s an amazing woodworker, metalsmith, all those things he’s passionate about,” Hinojosa said.
And of course, who can forget the undocumented woman with a brain tumor who was recently taken from the hospital, tied up and placed into immigration custody? Or the domestic abuse victim who was detained at an El Paso County Courthouse after obtaining a protective order against her abuser? At this rate, parents watching their kids playing sports, old ladies knitting on their front porches, any undocumented workers and maybe even toddlers are likely to be considered “bad dudes” too.
There’s little debate that the real “bad dudes” out there should be allowed to enter and remain in the US. Most people, including undocumented immigrants, do not support criminal immigrants being allowed to have a free pass to stay in the country. But in Trump’s world, pretty much any immigrant, or anyone for that matter, can be considered a “bad dude.” And that should have us all worried.