President-elect Donald Trump’s hardline stance on immigration has left millions of immigrants in the United States worried about their futures. From deportation threats to denaturalization programs, concerns are growing across communities, particularly among Latinos, who are the largest immigrant group in the U.S.
According to a Pew Research Center analysis, 47.8 million people in the United States were born outside the country. Of these, three-quarters are in the country legally, including naturalized citizens, lawful permanent residents, and those with temporary legal status. However, the remaining quarter, who are undocumented, often face the greatest challenges, including the threat of family separation.
Laura Kelley, an immigration attorney and member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, warned that even immigrants with U.S. citizenship might not be safe under Trump’s policies.
“The Trump administration, in the prior term, created a program to denaturalize some citizens, and that was by looking at their past applications to find any discrepancy in applications,” Kelley said. “So I want to be clear that just because somebody is a U.S. citizen and an immigrant, that does not mean that they are safe from what the Trump administration may do.”
Juan Proaño, CEO of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), emphasized the economic impact that a mass deportation policy could have.
“Latinos contribute over $3.2 trillion to the economy. We spend over 3.4 trillion. We spend more than we actually make. This is going to have a significant impact both on the labor markets,” Proaño said. “What would happen to the psyche of the community? What would happen to the economy? What would happen to the labor markets, the consumer markets? If you have children that are going to school, your children may be U.S. citizens, but a classmate in the classroom of your child, their mom may be undocumented, their father may be undocumented.”
The Latino community was a critical demographic in the 2024 presidential election. While Democrats won 56% of the Latino vote, the margin was narrower than in 2020, reflecting increased support for Trump. Roman Palomares, national president of LULAC, explained why some Latinos backed Trump this cycle.
“I think they were looking at one of the main issues, the economy. After COVID, there was a period there where a lot of people didn’t work, and then inflation started, and the prices went up, and the prices continue to be high, and a lot of families cannot afford certain things,” Palomares said. “I think that was the main message that they were hearing from one of the candidates, and the candidate was Trump.”
To address growing fears, organizations like LULAC are working to educate immigrant families about their rights.
“We’re already working on a campaign to make sure that we educate our Latino families that are being caught in this. We’ve got to put a campaign together, an education campaign, so they know what their rights are,” Palomares said. “If an ICE agent comes a-knocking on your door, you need to know what you can say and what you don’t have to say, what right you have. And that’s the kind of information we’re putting together right now.”
Despite efforts to prepare, Proaño said he is not optimistic about the near future.
“I’m not very hopeful for the near term. I will say that Latinos are very, very resilient, and we will certainly overcome this,” Proaño said. “For LULAC, you are in this country legally if you have asylum, if you’re a refugee, if you have temporary status, if you’re a DACA recipient. For Republicans, they don’t view them as legal. They view them as illegal.”
Kelley urged immigrants to take proactive steps to protect themselves.
“I would just say, to be prepared as possible if you have alternative forms of relief from removal, such as having an application filed on your behalf,” Kelley said. “It really requires the guidance of an experienced, licensed attorney to make sure that you’re not putting yourself in harm’s way. But I do think that there is a lot of legitimate concern for what faces all immigrants in this country as a result of this election.”
To read more about immigrant deportation in a new presidency, click here.
