President Donald Trump has kept immigration reform among the top issues on his agenda during the first 100 days, changing large programs and reshaping policies that impact people living in Arizona.
Angela Banks, an immigration law professor at Arizona State University, said immigrants and attorneys alike are working to understand the full scope of Trump’s changes.
“It's sort of hard for people to keep up and know exactly what their rights are or what the situation is right now,” Banks said. “This has been extremely rapid changes to immigration law, all in all of which are ways to either decrease immigration or limit the number of immigrants in the United States.”
Banks outlined three major shifts to immigration policy that she believes could have the largest impact if they take effect.
“The first is in access to birthright citizenship. The second is increasing deportations without the involvement of an immigration judge, and the third is the use of a sort of obscure deportation ground,” Banks said.
Trump signed an executive order aiming to eliminate birthright citizenship for any child of an unlawfully present mother, and if the father is not a U.S. citizen or a lawful permanent resident. The order also restricts birthright citizenship for those whose parents have temporary statuses.
That executive order has not taken effect and is being challenged in court.
As for deportations, the administration invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 for the Venezuelan gang, Tren De Agua.
More than 250 Venezuelan nationals were sent to El Salvador before a judge stopped future deportations under this order, as it’s challenged in court.
The Trump administration also rolled back humanitarian parole and halted asylum along the southern border.
These actions include changing the CBP One asylum appointment app into CBP Home, a self-deportation tool.
Other changes to expedite the removal policy are also being challenged legally.
Maricopa County Republicans described Trump’s 100 days as "Shockingly successful."
“I think the plan to let them self-deport is a good one,” Chairman Craig Berland said. “But if we have to find you and deport you because you're not abiding by the laws of the United States, then you're on a list that says you're that's it. You're done.”
Shelby Busch, with the county Republican Party and founder of We the People AZ Alliance, said she feels safer after the new administration’s orders.
“Our border is a pipe that broke. You have to shut the water off to the entire house to repair that pipe,” Busch said. “Once that's done, I would love to see a streamlined process that makes it easier for those who want to assimilate.”
Trump has also stopped CHNV parole, which provided a pathway into the US for people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.
DACA recipient Jose Patiño works with mixed-immigration-status families across the Valley through the organization Aliento.
“I know some of the individuals who have been impacted by it specifically, I think people feel a betrayal, because they're like, ‘We did it the right way, right?’” Patiño said.
Patiño said he hasn’t seen any large immigration enforcement raids, rather targeted operations, in the Valley. Still, he said a shift in public perception among immigrant communities has shaped Trump’s 100 days.
“People are afraid,” Patiño said. “Some of the families are afraid to send their kids to school, to go to church on Sundays, to go seek medical care.”
