Trump's disastrous deportation plan

The disastrous deportation plan of Trump One of the main messages of former President Donald Trump - if not the main one - in his acceptance speech for the Republican nomination was that, if elected, he would order "the largest deportation in history" of undocumented immigrants. Many at the Republican Convention carried signs that said, "Mass deportations now!" What former President Donald Trump conveniently omitted to mention is that the deportation of many of the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the country would cause an economic and humanitarian disaster. The promise to use the police, the National Guard, and even the military to arrest undocumented immigrants would not only turn the country into a police state, with possible random raids on Spanish-speaking people and the separation of parents from their babies, but would also cause a massive labor shortage that would drive inflation up. In his hour and a half speech at the Republican convention, Donald Trump started by talking about peace and love, but immediately returned to his usual narrative full of falsehoods about immigrants. "The biggest invasion in history is taking place right here in our country," Donald Trump stated. The truth is that the flow of migrants increased in 2022 and 2023, in part because in 2019 and 2020, towards the end of his presidency, the pandemic caused many potential migrants to stay in their countries. However, Donald Trump did not mention that illegal migration is on the decline. Illegal crossings at the southern border plummeted by 40% during the first four months of this year, according to the Customs and Border Protection agency. Worse still, he spent much of his speech deceptively portraying undocumented immigrants as criminals, despite statistics showing that they commit fewer violent crimes than native-born Americans. Trump claimed that undocumented immigrants "come from prisons, jails, mental institutions, and asylums," giving the impression that most are criminals. The reality is that the majority seek a better life and positively contribute to society. Organizations like the US Chamber of Commerce point out that there are nearly 9 million job vacancies in the country, reflecting the need for more workers, not fewer. By mentioning Dwight D. Eisenhower's mass deportation in 1954, Trump omitted the errors and atrocities committed during that period. Raids in Hispanic communities where many were deported by mistake are part of the history that cannot be overlooked when considering "the largest deportation operation in our country's history." In summary, Donald Trump's incendiary speech against undocumented immigrants is based on blatant lies. While reforming the immigration system and deporting criminals is necessary, demonizing immigrants and promoting mass deportations would only lead to an economic and humanitarian disaster. The reality is much more complex and requires more sensible and humane solutions.