The Congressional Hispanic Caucus Sounds the Alarm on Trump’s Immigration Policies
On Thursday, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) held a press conference to denounce the detrimental effects of President Donald Trump’s recent immigration executive orders. The caucus focused on the disproportionate harm these policies would inflict on three key groups: farmworkers, immigrant families, and Dreamers.
Chair Adriano Espaillat, a Democratic Representative from New York, emphasized the unifying nature of these concerns within the caucus, stating, “These three major linchpins are critical to this caucus and bring us all together, whether we are progressive, moderate or a little bit more moderate. We will be speaking about these three important items as the (immigration) debate continues.” His comments underscored the bipartisan nature of the concerns surrounding the impact of these policies.
The backdrop for the CHC’s concerns is the Republican Party’s unified control of Washington following the November elections. Republicans campaigned on promises of enhanced border security and supported Trump’s pledge for mass deportations of undocumented individuals. Adding to the complexity, some Democrats have also shifted their stance on immigration, contributing to bipartisan support for a bill that would lead to the mass detention of immigrants charged with crimes such as shoplifting. President Trump is expected to sign this bill into law.
Representative Gabe Vasquez, a New Mexico Democrat representing a border town, struck a more conciliatory tone, calling for an end to divisive rhetoric and a collaborative approach to finding solutions. He advocated for legal immigration pathways and increased resources for border security.
Trump’s recent executive actions have included the elimination of the CBP One app, a system used by migrants to schedule asylum officer appointments, the termination of asylum provisions, and the revocation of humanitarian parole protections for hundreds of thousands of immigrants. Furthermore, an executive order aiming to abolish birthright citizenship has been temporarily blocked by a federal judge in Washington state.
The CHC highlighted the critical role immigrant labor plays in the U.S. economy. Members warned that Trump’s deportation threats would lead to increased food prices, as farmworkers, fearing deportation, would be less likely to work. Representative Espaillat vividly illustrated this point: “Farm workers… are critical, not just to the economy, but if they continue to be scared and missing work because they feel they’re going to get deported, it will show up at our dinner table. The prices of the fruits and vegetables and produce that they pick will dramatically go up. So if you think we have an issue with inflation, this will put it on steroids.”
Representative Linda Sánchez, a California Democrat, echoed this sentiment, declaring immigrants to be “the backbone of the economy.” This assertion is supported by the Congressional Budget Office, which estimates that high immigration levels between 2024 and 2034 will boost the gross domestic product by $8.9 trillion. Despite these significant contributions, Sánchez lamented that immigrant communities are “under attack from President Trump because he sees them as an easy target.”
Regarding Dreamers – the more than 500,000 individuals in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program – Espaillat expressed his belief that there is widespread public support for their protection. While Trump has expressed openness to working with Democrats to maintain DACA, his lack of concrete plans has left lawmakers skeptical. Representative Sylvia Garcia, a Texas Democrat, voiced this skepticism, noting that the crucial question remains unanswered: “He hasn’t said how, and that is the question of the day.” The legal status of DACA remains precarious, following a recent federal appeals court ruling that deemed the program unlawful, although the program remains in place pending further appeals. The future of Dreamers, along with the broader impact of Trump’s immigration policies, remains uncertain.