Undocumented immigrants and their California families braced for the worst 鈥� and many told CalMatters they would go underground 鈥� as newly sworn-in President Donald Trump began issuing executive orders to enable what he promises will be the most massive deportation in U.S. history.
鈥淚t鈥檚 draining my energy a lot, thinking of what鈥檚 going to happen and not knowing exactly what鈥檚 going to happen with me and my family and my daughters,鈥� said Frank, a resident of northeastern Los Angeles who asked to be identified only by his first name because of his ongoing immigration case.
Advocates reported hearing from parents who were considering keeping their children home from school this week. Some neighbors said they will dispatch their children to shop for groceries and run errands, so they can mostly stay inside the house.
鈥淚 plan to just stay very local, no unnecessary trips, and thank God my work is close to my house,鈥� said Frank, who is a restaurant cook and came to this country without federal authorization from El Salvador about 20 years ago.
Kathleen, his wife of seven years and a U.S. citizen, called the situation 鈥渢errifying鈥� and said she was worried about him and 鈥渨hat I would be left to deal with and having to take care of our kids on my own.鈥�
In his inaugural speech, President Trump previewed a planned series of executive orders that he began rolling out later in the day. This evening he officially declared a that 鈥渞equires use of the Armed Forces鈥� 鈥� a move for which he can expect to face legal hurdles.
鈥淎ll illegal entry will immediately be halted, and we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came,鈥� Trump continued in his inaugural address, without providing details yet about how he could miraculously end all illegal entry. His tally of noncitizens with criminal convictions is far higher than that reported by federal immigration authorities.
The Republican president also said he planned to reinstate the 鈥淩emain in Mexico鈥� policy in place during his first term, which forced asylum seekers to wait in Mexico for their U.S. court hearings to present their immigration cases.
鈥淚 will end the practice of 鈥榗atch and release,鈥� and I will send troops to the southern border to repel the disastrous invasion of our country,鈥� he continued.
As expected, he issued an designating Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. 鈥淎nd by invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, I will direct our government to use the full and immense power of federal and state law enforcement to eliminate the presence of all foreign gangs and criminal networks 鈥︹�� he said.
And he signed yet 鈥� the right guaranteeing citizenship to anyone born in the country or its territories regardless of their parents鈥� immigration status. Trump wants the Supreme Court to reinterpret the provision.
, including California, filed a lawsuit in federal district court in Massachusetts Tuesday, challenging the order on grounds that it violates the Fourteenth Amendment and the Immigration and Nationality Act.
鈥淚 am deeply disappointed that we鈥檙e here, and also not at all surprised,鈥� said California Attorney General Rob Bonta at a press conference. 鈥淭his isn鈥檛 some theoretical legal disagreement. It would strip Americans of their most basic rights.鈥�
Bonta and the other attorneys general are asking the court for an immediate injunction to stop the order from taking effect on Feb. 19 while they litigate the case. Bonta acknowledged that the case could end up before the U.S. Supreme Court.
鈥淎s president of the United States, you have a lot of authority,鈥� Bonta said, 鈥渂ut it is not unlimited.鈥�
By late afternoon Monday on the West Coast, several hundred protesters began marching from San Diego鈥檚 Balboa Park to the Hall of Justice, chanting, 鈥淲hen immigrant lives are under attack, what do we do? Stand up fight back!鈥�
鈥淚鈥檓 worried about migrant people because this will be really hard for the next four years. It was before too, when Trump had power the last time. It was really crazy for us right there on the border, and we expect the same thing right now or worse,鈥� said Alejandro Ortigoza, 50, the leader of Armadillos Busqueda y Rescate, a group that goes out into the desert to search for the remains of missing migrants.
Yet even as the new president was declaring a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border, people whose lives straddle it mostly carried on with business as usual.
Lighter than normal foot traffic continued through the 鈥減edestrian east鈥� crossing at San Ysidro as people calmly headed for the trolley under the familiar noise of a helicopter circling above.
In the Home Depot parking lot in Imperial Beach, day laborers gathered as they usually do, seeking odd jobs helping San Diegans move or clean up their lawns. They said they cross the border every day from their homes in Tijuana and didn鈥檛 expect Trump鈥檚 executive orders would heavily affect them. Still, several planned to carry documents proving they are naturalized U.S. citizens everywhere they go.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 know what鈥檚 going to happen,鈥� said Juan, a 60-year-old from Sinaloa, Mexico, and a naturalized U.S. citizen who lives in Tijuana and crosses the border daily to work. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not convenient for the U.S., nor for Mexico, to close the border. It won鈥檛 benefit either country.鈥�
鈥淚 think Trump is very racist鈥�.and he鈥檚 not right in the head,鈥� he added.
Juan declined to give his last name out of fear of retaliation or harassment for sharing his negative opinion about the president. He keeps proof of his legal status ready. 鈥淚 always bring my certification, saying I鈥檓 naturalized everywhere I go. I have it in my backpack always.鈥�
Sa煤l Mu帽oz, a 53-year-old construction worker who lives in the Otay area of Tijuana, predicted an increase in human rights violations under Trump.
鈥淚f they remove all the (people who are) undocumented, then yes, we鈥檙e going to have more work, but they鈥檙e going to want to pay the same as they did before, they鈥檙e going to want to pay us less,鈥� said Mu帽oz. 鈥淪o, really, who is going to benefit?鈥�
鈥淭hroughout the Trump administration, we鈥檙e going to see horrors in terms of the attacks that immigrant communities are going to suffer. President Trump will put 5.1 million U.S. citizen children at risk of family separation,鈥� said Kerri Talbot, co-executive director of the Immigration Hub, a national pro-immigrant advocacy group based in D.C.
The most recent of Americans, conducted earlier in January, found that 55% either strongly or somewhat support mass deportations of people living in the United States without authorization.
Public support for deportation was even stronger in certain circumstances: 87% of those surveyed backed deporting those who are 鈥渉ere illegally and have criminal records,鈥� and 63% backed removing those who are 鈥渉ere illegally and arrived over the last four years.鈥�
But just 41% of those surveyed supported ending 鈥渂irthright citizenship for children born to immigrants who are here illegally.鈥� And only 34% wanted to stop deportation protections for 鈥渋mmigrants who were children when they entered the country illegally.鈥�
鈥淵ou鈥檙e going to concentrate on the worst first, public safety threats first. But no one鈥檚 off the table. If they鈥檙e in the country illegally, they鈥檝e got a problem.鈥�Trump border czar Tom Homan
It鈥檚 not like Trump鈥檚 actions today hadn鈥檛 been telegraphed far in advance 鈥� on the campaign trail, he repeatedly promised to carry out the largest deportation operation in U.S. history. By the end of last week, Trump鈥檚 Incoming 鈥渂order czar,鈥� Tom Homan, was telling that large-scale raids are set to begin as soon as Tuesday.
鈥淭here鈥檚 gonna be big raids all across the country. Chicago is just one of many places,鈥� said Homan, the former acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). 鈥淥n Tuesday, you鈥檙e going to expect ICE 鈥� ICE is finally going to go out and do their job. We鈥檙e going to take the handcuffs off ICE and let them go arrest 鈥榗riminal aliens.鈥� That鈥檚 what鈥檚 going to happen.鈥�
The administration鈥檚 plans are likely to encounter significant legal challenges and logistical obstacles, including the challenge of housing millions of detainees before they can be removed.
Threatening to yank California鈥檚 federal funds 鈥� again
One of Trump鈥檚 immigration orders today also y from 鈥渟anctuary jurisdictions鈥� that limit collaboration between local law enforcement and federal immigration agencies.
A relies on federal dollars.
鈥淭he Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall, to the maximum extent possible under law, evaluate and undertake any lawful actions to ensure that so-called 鈥渟anctuary鈥� jurisdictions, which seek to interfere with the lawful exercise of Federal law enforcement operations, do not receive access to Federal funds,鈥� one order states. 鈥淔urther, the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall evaluate and undertake any other lawful actions, criminal or civil, that they deem warranted based on any such jurisdiction鈥檚 practices that interfere with the enforcement of Federal law.鈥�
The returning president has long derided California for declaring itself a 鈥渟anctuary state鈥� for undocumented immigrants 鈥� a move the Democratic-controlled Legislature made during his first term 鈥� but the reality is more nuanced. Known here as the the law exempts from its protections people convicted of violent crimes or serious offenses such as felony drunk driving, for example, and allows California state prisons to regularly coordinate with ICE about upcoming release dates for prisoners eligible for deportation.
California during Trump鈥檚 first term to beat back his intent to withhold a few federal grants from the state for its failure to fully cooperate with federal immigration authorities. In 2018, a saying the president鈥檚 move was unconstitutional.
In December, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted 3-1 to prohibit county agencies from using local resources to assist federal immigration enforcement, including cooperation with ICE. But San Diego County Sheriff Kelly Martinez said she will not comply with the county鈥檚 new policy, saying the county board does not set policy for her department.
Days before Christmas, a conservative organization led by Trump adviser Stephen Miller and former San Diego County Supervisor Nora Vargas warning they could go to prison over sanctuary policies that protect undocumented residents.
Homan has said he plans to target not just people with criminal records but anyone who may be nearby.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e going to concentrate on the worst first, public safety threats first. But no one鈥檚 off the table. If they鈥檙e in the country illegally, they鈥檝e got a problem,鈥� Homan said on Fox News this weekend.
In San Diego, local organizations have been holding private 鈥溾�� events in the months since Trump鈥檚 election.
Gina Amato Lough, the directing attorney for Public Counsel鈥檚 Immigrants鈥� Rights Project in Los Angeles, stressed that constitutional rights apply to everyone, whether they are in the country legally or not.
鈥淚 do think it鈥檚 really important for people to exercise their constitutional rights,鈥� she said. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e at home and ICE shows up at your door, you don鈥檛 have to open the door.鈥�
In another case among the exhaustive list of California legal challenges to the first Trump administration, the University of California in 2020 that preserved the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA. The program鈥檚 purpose: to shield from deportation immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as children.
Economic impact
Trump鈥檚 executive orders are expected to have financial and economic impacts, costing billions of dollars and disrupting local communities while doing little to address real immigration challenges, advocates warned. Advocates and academics cautioned Trump鈥檚 pledged policies will ultimately weaken the country by undermining the contributions of immigrant communities.
鈥淚mportantly, for California, recovery from disasters: It鈥檚 immigrants who clean up and rebuild.鈥�UCLA sociology professor Cecilia Menj铆var
鈥淓conomically, the entire country is going to be deeply affected negatively,鈥� said Cecilia Menj铆var, a professor of sociology at UCLA. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 super important to recognize that it鈥檚 not only undocumented immigrants we鈥檙e talking about. Lawful permanent residents, naturalized citizens, all immigrant labor, all immigrants, all foreign-born, contribute vitally to critical sectors of the entire economy of the country: health, services, hospitality, care for children, care for the elderly, high tech, you name it.鈥�
鈥淚mportantly, for California, recovery from disasters: It鈥檚 immigrants who clean up and rebuild,鈥� Menj铆var added.
The California Welcoming Task Force, a binational coalition of immigration organizations active in the border region, estimated the removal of 7 to 8 million undocumented workers in the U.S. would exacerbate already-worsening labor shortages.
鈥淭he impact on numerous industries, such as , would be catastrophic,鈥� the group wrote in an email today. 鈥淎 deportation effort of this scale would also cost in California alone, with millions more spent annually to fund immoral and unsafe detention camps.鈥�
On the south side of the border
At a protest in the Mexican city of Tijuana on Sunday, activists hung anti-Trump signs and a Trump pi帽ata along the border wall at Playas de Tijuana. Earlier, students from Universidad Aut贸noma de Baja California of Ensenada painted hearts and messages of love and acceptance on the steel bollards of the border wall.
Trump ended the Biden administration鈥檚 CBP One, a mobile application that allows migrants outside the U.S. to request an asylum appointment at a port of entry. about 270,000 migrants are waiting in northern Mexico, hoping to get an appointment or make their appointment before Trump cancels the program.
Cutting off their legal pathway may lead to an increase in irregular crossings, border experts warned. During the last Trump administration, makeshift encampments formed along the border as migrants waiting to cross into the United States became increasingly desperate, lacking food, water, shelter and being targeted by criminal groups in northern Mexico. That led to an increase in people making more desperate attempts to cross the border in more dangerous ways.
Nigel Duara contributed to this story.