Trump Is Losing Support Of Non-MAGA Republicans On Deportations

 

U.S. Public Wants More Focus On The Economy (And Less On Deportations)

 

The charts above are from the Strength In Numbers / Verasight Poll -- done between February 18th and 20th of a nationwide sample of 1,566 adults, with a 2.5 point margin of error.

U.S. Public Disagrees With Trump On Which Immigrants Should Be Deported

The chart above reflects the results of the Economist / YouGov Poll -- done between February 13th and 16th of a nationwide sample of 1,682 adults, with a 3.1 point margin of error.

 

NBC Poll Shows Americans Don't Like How Trump/ICE Are Handling Deportations

 

The charts above are from the NBC News Decision Desk Poll -- done between January 27th and February 6th of a nationwide sample of 21,995 adults, with a 2.4 point margin of error.

Most Americans Want Violent Criminals Deported (But Not Most Other Immigrants)

 

The charts above are from the Economist / YouGov Poll -- done between January 30th and February 2nd of a nationwide sample of 1,672 adults (including 1,504 registered voters). The margin of error is 3.2 points for adults and 3 points for registered voters.

About 51% Support Deportation Policy - BUT NOT HOW TRUMP IS DOING IT!

 

The charts above are from the YouGov Poll -- done between January 26th and 28th of a nationwide sample of 1,124 adults, with a 4 point margin of error.

Mother Of Caroline Leavitt's Nephew Speaks Out About Her ICE Arrest

The following post is by Kyla Guilfoil and Antonia Hylton at MS NOW: 

Bruna Ferreira, the mother of White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt’s nephew, spent 26 days in a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center. Six days after her release, Ferreira spoke to MS NOW’s Antonia Hylton about the experience.

“I wouldn’t believe it if I didn’t see it with my own two eyes, if I didn’t hear it with my own two ears,” she said. “It’s not civil.”

While being held at an ICE detention center in southern Louisiana, she shared the space with pregnant women and women who had been seeking medical attention for weeks, Ferreira said. “The only thing that I can think of is I’m so lucky that I’m healthy,” she said. 

Inside, the detention center was freezing, and she and other detainees were only allowed outside for brief periods. “It’s just inhumane. It’s cruel. I can’t understand how people don’t see that this is a problem, especially because I’ve been a law-abiding citizen my entire life,” Ferreira said.

The 33-year-old was arrested by federal agents in Massachusetts on Nov. 12 while driving to pick up her son from school. 

Ferreira’s attorney, Todd Pomerleau, told MS NOW that she was barricaded by masked and armed agents in five vehicles who surrounded her car and repeatedly asked, “Are you Bruna?”

Ferreira said that at first she didn’t believe the Leavitt family was involved in her arrest. Now she’s not so sure. “It wasn’t an accident. How would they know her name, if it’s a random traffic stop?” Pomerleau said.

“The more that I look at all of the coincidences, you know, like how they knew that I was leaving to pick up Michael from school, how they knew my address,” Ferreira told Hylton, “how can someone know where I am, exactly where I’m going? You know, it just doesn’t make any sense.” 

A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson called Ferreira “a criminal illegal alien” in a statement to MS NOW last Tuesday, adding that in 1999 she overstayed a tourist visa that required her to leave the U.S. 

The statement claimed that a “Biden-appointed judge” granted Ferreira bond and that her deportation proceedings will continue, adding, “She will have periodic mandatory check-ins with ICE law enforcement to ensure she is abiding by the terms of her release.”

Ferreira told MS NOW that she came into the country legally on a visa from Brazil at just 6 years old to live with her parents. In 2012, she received temporary Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status under the program enacted during the Obama administration that allows undocumented young people to receive temporary relief from deportation and to work. Since then, Ferreira said she has been working toward obtaining full legal citizenship. 

DHS also alleged that in addition to violating immigration laws, Ferreira had a “previous arrest for battery.”

Pomerleau told MS NOW that the department is referring to an incident when 16-year-old Ferreira got into a fight with another girl outside a Dunkin’ Donuts. She received a summons to juvenile court over the incident, but the case was dismissed and she was never arrested. 

In Massachusetts, such cases are protected by privacy laws and include confidential proceedings, Pomerleau said. He told MS NOW that he believes the incident must have been leaked to DHS, as the records are not accessible to the public. “As a lawyer, I can’t even access these records,” Pomerleau said.

“They’re claiming she’s a criminal, yet she’s never been arrested for anything other than this illegal, unconstitutional arrest on November the 12th,” Pomerleau said. 

Ferreira said that she still doesn’t feel free since her release from the nearly monthlong detention, telling MS NOW that “even when I’m back at home and I’m sleeping, I still feel like, you know, it’s not real, that I’m still in there.” 

“It’s exhausting,” she added.

Ferreira said that she believes the American immigration system is impossible even for those who seek to follow its guidelines as precisely as possible. 

“The system is broken. You know, if they ask you to do something, you do it; and then if you don’t, you know — you’re damned if you do, damned if you don’t. It’s very hard to understand what they want from you,” Ferreira said.

Ferreira said she still has not seen her 11-year-old son. She shares custody of the boy with his father, Michael Leavitt, who is her ex-fiancé and the press secretary’s brother. “I have been able to FaceTime him, but I have not been able to do what I had envisioned, which was go and surprise him and give him a hug,” Ferreira said.

Question: Is this just the Leavitt family's sneaky (and cruel) way to end shared custody?

Voters Don't Like The Way ICE Agents Operate

 

The charts above reflects the results of the Economist / YouGov Poll -- done between September 12th and 15th of a nationwide sample of 1,420 registered voters, with a 3.3 point margin of error.

The Trump Administration Is Still Targeting Migrant Agricultural Workers

The following is part of an article by Michele Norris at MSNBC:

 Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins is making an unrealistic pledge to create a “100% American workforce” in agriculture.

One hundred percent American is a surefire applause line for the Trump faithful, as evidenced by the applause Rollins received at a recent press conference where she shared the idea. However, it shows an unfortunate lack of understanding of the current state of play for farmers who are struggling mightily to find a reliable workforce in all corners of America.

The numbers tell the story. There are more than 2.6 million people working on farms in the United States. That includes 1 million workers for hire who are primarily immigrants. According to recent KFF data, 1 in 10 workers are Hispanic and two-thirds are noncitizen immigrants. While a small percent hold work authorization or a green card with protective status, almost half lack formal work authorization. . . .

“Ultimately the answer on this is automation, also some reform within the current governing structure,” Rollins said. “And then also, when you think about it, there are 34 million able-bodied adults in our Medicaid program. There are plenty of workers in America, but we just have to make sure we are not compromising today, especially in the context of everything we are thinking about right now.”

Rollins said there would be no amnesty for farm workers and that the mass deportations would continue “in a strategic and intentional way, as we move our workforce towards more automation and towards a 100% American workforce.”

Rollins also noted that given the number of able-bodied adults on Medicaid, “we should be able to do that fairly quickly.”

Unsurprisingly, members of the farming community have openly scoffed at this idea.

Michael Marsh, president and CEO of the National Council of Agricultural Employers, told Brownfield Ag News, “I just can’t imagine somebody from New York City wanting to take a job in New York to milk a cow in order to qualify for their Medicaid. To me that just doesn’t make sense.”

“If a Medicaid recipient is required to work I can guarantee you that farm work would be one of the last jobs a Medicaid recipient would seek,” said Tom Vilsack, who was the secretary of agriculture for 12 years under Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden. “It is physically demanding and at times dangerous. The notion … suggests a misunderstanding of who is on Medicaid and why. I think the secretary will find that being ‘able-bodied’ does not mean that any individual can work in the difficult conditions that farmworkers face with reference to the nature of the work and the weather conditions (both hot and cold) in which the work is performed.” . . .

The agriculture sector is ranked one of the most dangerous in America. Whether it’s picking melons, detasseling corn, harvesting sugar beets or yanking lettuce from the ground, farm work is grueling and perilous. The people who work in the fields face heat stress, pesticide exposure, the risk of chemical burns, repetitive motion injuries, joint damage and hearing loss. (That last thing might confuse city folks, but anyone who has been within earshot of a tractor or a combine harvester or the gigantic towers that dry grain or corn understands why the decibel level causes danger.) The machinery alone presents unique hazards, with tractor rollovers and gigantic blades and fast-moving conveyor belts. And the current uptick in ICE raids has only made agriculture labor more perilous, as we saw in reports over the weekend of the death of Jaime Alanis Garcia, a farmworker who fell 30 feet off a building when he was allegedly trying to avoid federal agents during a raid at a cannabis farm in Ventura County, California. . . .

Harvest season is fast approaching. For some crops it’s already here, and nature is not patient. Produce must be pulled on a timely basis before the bugs or the sun reduce its viability and value. . . .

Here’s one thing that has 100% certainty: With no realistic plan to replace the farmworkers who are being rounded up or who are too afraid to show up for work, we are all going to reap a rough harvest in coming months. The workers. The farmers. The retailers and the consumers. Think about that next time you’re in the produce aisle.

Is This Really What You Want ICE Doing With Your Tax Dollars?

The following is from an article by Philip Bump in The Washington Post. It highlights some of the actions by ICE agents - actions I think most Americans would not approve.

Jermaine Thomas, born to a U.S. Army soldier on a military base in Germany, was deported by ICE to Jamaica — a country he’d never been to before — after being arrested for “suspected trespassing” in Texas.

A former member of the Afghan National Army who’d aided the U.S. during the war in that country and who was seeking asylum was arrested by ICE at his home in Texas. Brought to the U.S. after the military withdrawal in 2021, he now has two children who are U.S. citizens.

Several immigrants from Iran have recently been detained. Madonna Kashanian, 64, was seized while gardening outside her house in New Orleans. An Iranian man who came to the U.S. on a fiancé visa was arrested and separated from his pregnant wife. A Christian church in Los Angeles has seen a number of Iranian immigrant congregants arrested, including in the wake of the recent hostilities.

Christianity Today has documented several other religious leaders who were detained by immigration officers, including a pastor and a deacon from separate Florida congregations.

Kerlin Moreno-Orellana was arrested for illegal dumping (at the behest of his employer, according to an advocacy organization) and sent to a detention camp, leaving two children ages 8 and 10 behind.

A man who sold ice cream in California was arrested by masked agents who left his cart unattended on the sidewalk.

A woman from El Salvador who called police in Houston to allege abuse by her ex-husband was taken into custody after the police reported her to ICE.

ICE agents in Massachusetts smashed the window of a car with people inside of it as they sought an alleged fugitive. The occupant of the car was arrested — and then later released from custody.

Marine Corps veteran Adrian Clouatre’s wife was “ripped … away from me and her children, from her breastfeeding … newborn daughter” by ICE, he told CBS News. As she was being handcuffed, she handed her wedding ring to her husband. Another Marine veteran (and staunch Trump supporter) experienced a similar disruption.

So did a firefighter in Arizona, after his wife was instructed by ICE to bring her children to an upcoming hearing. (This tactic is increasingly common.) The children now face deportation hearings of their own.

A 6-year-old with leukemia was among those arrested at an immigration court in California. (In New York, children as young as 4 have been forced to serve as their own legal representatives during immigration hearings.)

A newly married woman who has lived in the U.S. since she was 8 was arrested as she tried to reenter the country after her honeymoon and is now in ICE detention.

A pregnant woman arrested by ICE in Tennessee lost the baby she was expecting with her American partner while in detention and was later deported.

The arrest of a long-standing member of a Missouri community sparked national outcry in May. Carol Mayorga was later released. ICE has also detained citizens (including a pregnant woman), green-card holders and people attending citizenship hearings.

Most Say ICE Should Wear Uniforms (Without masks) And Go After Criminals

 

The charts above are from the latest Economist / YouGov Poll -- done between June 6th and 9th of a nationwide sample of 1,533 adults, with a 3.5 point margin of error.

Republicans Like Trump's Immigrant Deportations - Most Others Don't

 

The charts above are the CBS News / YouGov Poll -- done between June 4th and 6th of a nationwide sample of 2,428 adults, with a 2.4 point margin of error.

Most Say Abrego Garcia Should Be Returned To The U.S.

The chart above reflects the results of the Economist / YouGov Poll -- done between April 19th and 22nd of a nationwide sample of 1,625 adults (including 1,446 registered voters). The margin of error for both groups is 3.3 points. 

The chart above is from the Washington Post / ABC News Poll -- done between April 18th and 22nd of a nationwide sample of 2,464 adults, with a 2 point margin of error.

Views On Immigration/Deportation From The Yale Youth Poll

 

The charts above are from the Yale Youth Poll -- done between April 1st and 3rd of a nationwide sample of 4,100 registered voters (including 2,025 under 30). The margin of error for all adults is 1.9 points, and for the youth sample is 1.8 points.

Trump Administration Said They Were Violent Criminals - Where Is The Proof?

The Trump administration deported 238 immigrants to a maximum prison in El Salvador. A couple of days ago, they sent 10 more to that prison. Administration officials said they were violent criminals - the worst of the worst.

As President Bukele of El Salvador visited the White House, HHS Secretary Kristi Norm thanked him for taking these "worst" criminals that the U.S. didn't have room for. What a ridiculous statement!

The United States has more people in prison per capita than any other country in the entire world. I'm sure we could have found room for 248 more. The problem was not having enough room. It was violating both the Constitution and the rule of law.

These immigrants (and any other visitor to this country) have the same rights under our Constitution as citizens do. One of these important rights is "due process" - the right to a hearing or trial before the government takes punitive action against you.

If these deportees had been given a hearing (which was their right), the government would have had to prove they were undocumented. They could have done that probably, and then had the right to deport them to the country of their origin.

But they were not deported to the country of their origin (Venezuela). They were sent to El Salvador - and even worse, they were sent to a maximum security prison - possibly for the rest of their lives (or until the U.S. stopped paying El Salvador to incarcerate them).

That was a violation of the rule of law. The government of the United States cannot put anyone in prison with giving them a trial and providing proof that they have violated the law. No proof was offered and no trial was held. Mere statements by government officials are NOT proof!

The truth is that the government likely had no proof. At least 75% of these deportees had no criminal record - and the government offered no proof that any of them had violated U.S. law.

If these men were violent gang members and undocumented, then I would have no problem with their deportation. But it must be done correctly and within the law. When anyone is denied due process and imprisoned without proof in a trial, it puts everyone in danger - even citizens.

Rights must apply to everyone or they are assured for no one. 

Trump Is Trashing The Constitution With His Deportations

 

Donald Trump has been playing fast and loose with his deportations. He has deported 261 people he claimed were members of a Venezuelan gang called Teen de Aragua. They weren't sent back to their home country, but were sent to a prison in El Salvador.

Don't get me wrong. If there are undocumented members of a foreign criminal gang in the United States, I have no problem with them being deported. But I am bothered by how it was done. 

First, is there proof that they were really gang members? No proof has been offered. Trump has said they were, but after the many thousands of lies he has told I don't think we should take his word for it. Some doubt has been cast about some who were labeled as gang members and deported. One was a gay hairdresser. Does anyone really think a macho South American gang would have a gay hairdresser as a member? That's just not believable.

Second, there were not deported back to the country they came from, which has always been U.S. policy. Instead of being sent back to Venezuela, they were sent to El Salvador - a country they know nothing about.

Third, they were not just sent to El Salvador, but to a prison in El Salvador. When did the U.S. start putting people in prison without charges and a conviction at a trial?  Maybe some (or nearly all) of them were gang members who were breaking one or more laws. If so, they should have been charged with a crime, put on trial, and convicted after proof was offered. 

But most important, the arrest and deportation of these individuals violated the U.S. Constitution. You may be thinking that foreign gang members don't have the same rights as a citizen. But that is wrong.

The U.S. Constitution guarantees certain right to people - not citizens. Those rights, including due process rights, are guaranteed to everyone that is inside the borders of the United States - even undocumented immigrants who belong to a criminal gang. They should not have been deported without a due process hearing before an immigration judge or imprisoned without a due process trial before a state or federal judge.

It may be easy to violate the constitutional rights of these foreign gang members, because they are not popular. But it shouldn't be. Constitutional rights don't just apply to the people we (or the government) likes. It applies to everyone! 

If the rights of unpopular people can be violated with impunity, it just makes it easier for the authorities to violate the rights of others - maybe even citizens they don't like. Protecting the rights of "bad people" protects the rights of everyone else.

It's sad and scary that Trump and his cronies don't understand that. 

Trump's Tariffs And Deportations Will Make Grocery Prices Go Way Up

During the campaign, Trump made three big promises to voters. He pledged to raise tariffs on imports from other countries, deport undocumented immigrants, and reduce grocery prices. 

It looks like he is going to follow through on the first two (tariffs and deportations). That means he will not be able to reduce grocery prices. On the contrary, they will go way up!

Tariffs will obviously make prices go up. While Trump claims the foreign countries will pay the tariff, that is simply not true. The importer of the goods pays the tariff - and then raises the price to the consumer on those goods to recoup the loss.

The United States imports about 40% to 60% of fruits and vegetables (and other foodstuffs like meat are imported). The price of those imports will go up by the amount of the tariff imposed. His projected tariff on Mexico is 25%, and it's expected to be the same for many other countries. That would raise the price of imports from Mexico (where we get a lot of our fruits and vegetables) by a whopping 25%!

And it won't be any better for grocery products produced in the United States. A huge portion of the workers on farms are undocumented immigrants (see the chart above) - doing hard labor jobs that Americans don't want. If they are deported, it will be very hard to replace them. Some crops will not be harvested and those that are will cost a lot more. The same is true of ranches and meatpackers.

Trump has made competing promises, which means some will not be kept. The American consumer will pay the price for it.