Deportations

[Elle]

So, how is the anticipation of deportations working out in your world? In mine, not so good! My sister in law teaches an ESL class for kids and things aren't good. What do you do if 12 year old is a citizen and parents are not? I guess the US is going to be removing a lot of nursing students, too? And all the rest of the DACA kids? Luckily we already hire nothing but legal laborers because my husband follows very strict standards about that, but for most people? Better get your roof fixed right now or hire a new maid before you can't get one. I can't even imagine what's going to happen to ag production and food processing.

[akiva]

I live in a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood. It wouldn't surprise me if some of the people in the neighborhood are illegals. I imagine a lot of people in the area are nervous.

[Mike]

He's got a couple months to roll some of it back before he takes office. His positions are fluid. He did literally whatever it took to get himself elected, and now he's already backing off of his core campaign promises. His mouthpieces have already stated that the whole build-a-wall-make-Mexico-pay-for -it thing was a great campaign trick, but c'mon. He's gone from immediately repeal and replace Obamacare to well there some parts of it that make sense, so we're not getting rid of everything in there. He's gone from deport all illegals to deport all illegals with criminal records. He's gone from drain the swamp to I'm packing my cabinet with every old, white, male insider I can find.

He has the potential to do really drastic and horrible things. He also has the potential to find the entire job way too overwhelming, so he'll just sit back and let the Republican establishment carry on with their very typical and very predictable horrible things.

[Elle]

Bannon is the chief strategist; he is the least insidery appointment! President Trump's going to deport people like crazy with the only limitation being personnel available to handle all of it. Congress will fund this effort immediately. I cannot think of any reason why he would restrain himself in any way now that he has a fabulously souped-up Executive power and a Congress ready to comply with whatever he does. They face no negative consequences of accepting the Bannon agenda in full form - quite the opposite! Anyone up for election who defies him will be primaried out in two years. The farthest far-right element of the GOP just won big league and is only getting started. To be honest I think that's the only hope of changing course. Maybe when shit gets real enough for people to actually smell it, they will reconsider what they agreed to.

[Mike]

Because I don't believe he gives a shit about immigration except inasmuch as he has to maintain the optics of trying to look like he cares about his campaign promises.

[akiva]

[Reika]

Considering that Obama has to actually train Trump in the duties of the President, I suspect the deportations won't happen right away because he won't know how to arrange it.

Then there's also the fact his transition team is starting to get a turnover like his campaign, it'll be amazing if he can get anything done at all.

[Stan]

Obama had already stepped deportations to a level that the undocumented population was declining.

Plus, Republicans in congress are mixed on immigration. Though all of them say tough things to get votes, many of them realize that businesses rely on undocumented immigrants to keep wages low. Trump will find out that there is only so much a president can do on their own.

We might see a bump up but I doubt that we'll see a huge increase.

The fear and racism, however, are very real.

[Elle]

At my workplace it is being taken extremely seriously as a future prospect, that's all I know. Whether it comes to pass or not, people have to assume that it could and plan for that contingency.

[Mike]

Agreed. The man is capable of so many things, and this is likely enough that it would be foolish to not at least consider it and plan for some contingencies.

[Elle]

I don't know what the hell my sister in law is doing. I tried to call her and can't even reach her. I think based on reports from mother in law, it has been a week from hell. She basically works with kids who are either going to be separated from families or face being deported themselves. No effort to stop the EMPLOYERS who are breaking the law; just the people trying to make the living.

[Reika]