Washington DC – Immigrant rights groups said they were sticking to their guns and preparing for a long-running battle as US President Donald Trump’s first plan. A massive crackdown on immigration It takes shape.

In a series of rapid orders during his first week in office, Trump sought to reform nearly every aspect of U.S. immigration.

He has rescinded guidance specifying where immigration raids can take place, canceled asylum applications at the southern border and barred refugees who had already been approved for entry into the United States, as part of a broader suspension of the US refugee program.

Although large-scale arrests have not yet occurred, immigration rights advocates said Friday that Trump has already caused chaos for those seeking asylum in the United States and sparked a chill among immigrant communities already in the country.

“Cosy, cruel and chaotic are the words that characterize the wave of extreme policies unleashed by the Trump administration in its effort to purge our country of immigrants,” Vanessa Cárdenas, executive director of the advocacy group Voice of America, said during a phone call. With journalists.

“Chaos and fear is the goal.”

‘Unprecedented powers’

After a campaign marked by insulting rhetoric against immigrants and asylum seekers, Trump was sworn in for the second time on Monday, pledging to make immediate changes to the US immigration system.

His administration has already issued more than a dozen executive orders and policy changes establishing tough policies.

In a call on Friday with reporters, Naina Gupta, policy director at the American Immigration Council, said Trump’s actions reveal ambitions beyond his stated desire to detain immigrants with criminal records.

“What Trump’s orders make clear is that they establish immediate measures to harm all immigrants: the 13 million undocumented people who have lived for years in the United States, people with legal protection, asylum seekers, and those on nonimmigrant visas who are already in our country,” she said. To immigrate here legally.

She said many of the administration’s early actions “call for unprecedented powers.” Many of them have already been challenged in court, and further legal action is expected.

The political changes have been widespread.

For illegal immigrants already in the United States, Trump is preparing to increase deportations through expedited removals and increased cooperation with local law enforcement.

His Department of Homeland Security also rescinded a decade-old policy prohibiting immigration detention in “sensitive” locations including schools, hospitals and churches. Meanwhile, his Justice Department ordered federal prosecutors to investigate local officials who obstruct immigration enforcement.

US media reported on Friday that Trump’s Department of Homeland Security also gave its agents the authority to deport individuals who were allowed to enter the country legally under former President Joe Biden. Humane Parole Program. Citizens of four countries – Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela – will be affected.

Meanwhile, those seeking safety on the US southern border face new obstacles in the Trump era.

As one of his first steps in office, Trump declared a national emergency at the border and deployed troops there. The president also suspended the processing of asylum applications and canceled CBP One’s CBP One app, which is used to schedule asylum appointments.

An estimated 270,000 individuals who used CBP One saw their meetings canceled this week, despite waiting weeks, if not months, for their appointments in Mexico.

As did the Trump administration Refugees on the ground They underwent a lengthy security screening and were pre-approved for transfer, before the US Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) was suspended for 90 days, which is scheduled to begin on Monday.

“Absolute propaganda”

While Trump made similar efforts during his first term starting in 2017, Gupta of the American Immigration Council said the early days of Trump’s second term revealed “a more determined and thoughtful blueprint for how to turn the American immigration system upside down.”

Gupta added that Trump and his advisers “have a clear understanding of where there are openings” in current US law to test the limits of this issue.

Many community advocates say they are Getting ready For the “mass deportation” campaign that Trump officials promised in media interviews in the coming days.

One raid in Newark, New Jersey, has already attracted nationwide attention. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka announced Friday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents entered a local business without a warrant a day earlier.

He accused them of detaining illegal individuals and US citizens and described the incident as a “scandalous act” in “clear violation” of the US Constitution.

“I am appalled, upset and angry that this happened here in this state, in this country,” Baraka said.

The raid appears to represent a departure from policies of the Biden administration, which imposed a ban on immigration enforcement in the workplace.

In its last official update on Thursday, ICE said it had arrested 538 people during the first four days of the Trump administration. The agency has made an average of about 310 arrests per day in 2024 under the Biden administration.

White House spokeswoman Carolyn Leavitt also to publish On social media, “deportation flights have begun,” with photos showing a line of people boarding a military plane.

However, critics pointed out that deportation flights were occurring weekly under the Biden administration, and the only change under Trump was the use of military aircraft.

In a answer On the social media platform Another immigration activist, Thomas Cartwright, described it as “theatre of the absurd.”

Long fight

While advocates continue to monitor how Trump’s early orders are implemented, the battle over their legality has already begun in the courts.

The early victory came on Thursday, when a federal judge deemed Trump’s order ending birthright citizenship unconstitutional. ban Implemented.

Legal challenges have also been filed against Trump’s move to expand expedited removals and his cancellation of appointments scheduled through the CBP One app.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, Karen Tomlin, director of the Judicial Action Center, predicted more challenges in the coming days.

She explained that Trump’s military deployment on the southern border, his change in policy on “sensitive” sites, and his order to end so-called “humanitarian parole” programs could all face legal complaints.

But Tomlin added that lawsuits are not a silver bullet for reforming the US approach to immigration.

“The most important point for everyone to remember is that the courts are critical to stopping harm, but we really need to listen to those who are harmed if we are to change the way we work,” Tomlin said.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Lori Paul Cooper, vice president for US legal programs at the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP), pointed out flaws in Trump’s suspension of the USRAP refugee program.

The order cites national security concerns as part of the rationale for canceling refugee flights, despite often years of scrutiny of those participating in the program.

She added that this “is based in part on the assumption that communities in the United States are not prepared or willing to welcome refugees.” “I don’t think this matches the facts on the ground.”

She added that IRAP is preparing to file a lawsuit to challenge the suspension.