Widespread and devastating consequences
The consequences of mass deportation
Former President Trump has long been touting plans for mass deportation of the estimated 11 million undocumented people living in the U.S. and has been developing a more detailed process to do so should he win the election on November 5. He plans to get assistance from Republican governors who would authorize their National Guard to arrest undocumented people in their states, and who would deploy their troops to states that refused to cooperate in making such arrests.
Trump unveiled a new part of the plan last Friday at a rally in Aurora, CO called “Operation Aurora,” which would invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. The act was last used during World War II and allows the president to authorize the relocation, arrest or deportation of any male over 14 years old from a country at war with the U.S. “We will send elite squads of ICE, Border Patrol and federal law enforcement officers to arrest and deport every last illegal alien gang member until there is not a single one left in this country,” Trump said at the rally.
The consequences of a mass deportation are vast and include a great cost to taxpayers and economic repercussions including a loss of tens of thousands of workers in farming, construction, and hospitality, which would in turn reduce production and be reflected in raised consumer prices. In addition, mass deportation would tear families and communities apart. To learn more about these widespread and devastating consequences, check out this explainer from the National Immigration Forum.
Former refugee uses his experience to welcome refugees in Washington state
Tshishiku Henry is from the Democratic Republic of Congo, but had to flee as a teenager because of war. He found safety at a refugee camp in Malawi where he took note of the poverty and the lack of opportunity for children in the camp. He took it upon himself to do something about it and started the Children’s Art Club, an arts education and advocacy program. He received funding to grow the program from UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and it is still in operation today.
Tshishiku met his wife in the camp and in 2018 they received the news that they were selected to resettle in Seattle, WA, where he now runs his nonprofit Wide World for Refugee and is the state delegate for Refugee Congress. He also launched the first annual Refugees and Immigrants Festival in Kent, Washington in September 2024. “My goal is one day to bring [for example] a refugee artist from Burma or a refugee artist from Malawi to come and perform at the Refugees and Immigrants Festival in the United States,” Tshishiku said. “This is going to be a very big movement for refugees around the world, and it will be a platform to fundraise and support other refugees remaining in the camps.”
Written by Jenifer Wellman, our Advocacy Director at We Choose Welcome.
