Caribbean Matters: Project 2025 endangers Caribbean migrants in US
The implications for the future of democracy in the U.S. detailed in the right wing’s Project 2025 and in its Trumpian mirror Agenda 47 are disastrous. But not enough attention has been paid to how those plans, if Republicans succeed in electing Trump and his minions, would affect hundreds of thousands of immigrants in this country, both legal and undocumented. While Republican racist rhetoric is unleashed daily against migrants (much of it focused on Mexicans, Central and South Americans) we must not overlook Caribbean Americans. The U.S. Census Bureau’s 2021 American Community Survey (ACS) reported an estimate of over 3 million West Indians here, along with over 2.4 million Cubans, and 2.3 million Dominicans. The Haitian American community has been the most heavily targeted by anti-immigration forces, while many Cuban Americans have been the beneficiaries of immigration privilege. “Caribbean Matters” is a weekly series from Daily Kos. If you are unfamiliar with the region, check out Caribbean Matters: Getting to know the countries of the Caribbean. The Migration Policy Institute explains some of the differences in treatment that Cuban Americans face compared to Haitians: Cubans and Haitians have received particular designations under U.S. immigration law, with Cubans uniquely preferenced. The 1966 Cuban Adjustment Act provided Cubans admitted or paroled into the United States a direct pathway to legal permanent residence after just one year—the only fast-track designation of its type for a particular national origin. The 1994 and 1995 U.S.-Cuba Migration Accords further set the foundation for what became known as the “wet foot, dry foot” policy, enabling Cubans who reached U.S. land to apply for legal status, with or without a valid visa. (Cubans intercepted at sea are returned to the island.) The 1966 law and the wet foot, dry foot policy resulted in large increases in the U.S. Cuban population. In working to improve diplomatic relations with Cuba, the Obama administration ended the policy in early 2017. Cuban migrants arriving at a U.S. land border without prior authorization have since been subject to deportation on par with other foreign nationals. [...] Haitians have not had access to similarly favorable treatment, though some Haitians living in the United States without authorization have been granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS). TPS provides protection from removal and work authorization to foreign nationals from certain designated countries experiencing ongoing armed conflict, natural disaster, or other extraordinary conditions. Immigration policy reporter Gaby Del Valle wrote for The Nation on how much harsher the Department of Homeland Security would be if Trump were elected to a second term: People who are currently in the United States but lack permanent status—including people with temporary protected status and the hundreds of thousands of Afghans, Ukrainians, Venezuelans, Cubans, Nicaraguans, and Haitians recently admitted to the country under humanitarian parole—could have their status rescinded. Under a second Trump administration, USCIS officers would be retrained to focus on “fraud detection rather than speed in processing.” Slow processing times would be used against migrants and prospective immigrants alike; the chapter suggests that, until the agency catches up on its backlog of cases, anyone whose application is rejected would be required to “leave the U.S. immediately,” eliminating any possibility of appealing the decision or reapplying from inside the country. USCIS would also increase the cost of all applications, implement fees for asylum petitions, and expand the “premium” processing track that would let people pay more to skip the line. Congress hasn’t passed a major immigration law in decades, and the most recent attempt, which included plenty of restrictive policies that could have been plucked straight from the Heritage Foundation’s wish list, failed because Republicans refused to give President Biden a “victory” on immigration. Under Trump, the inverse would likely occur: Democrats who supported Biden’s attempted crackdown at the border would refuse to vote to codify policies backed by Trump. But Democratic opposition may be stymied if Republicans assume legislative control this November. With Congress on board, there is far more that Project 2025 envisions for Trump’s second term. The DHS chapter in Mandate calls on Congress to pass a bill that allocates additional funding for ICE agents to arrest immigrants living in the US; for the attorneys who argue for their deportations; and for more beds in immigrant detention facilities. To ensure that those beds are filled, the document also suggests that Congress change the law to state that noncitizens in deportation proceedings “shall” be detained. (Right now, the statute says immigrants “may” be detained, a stipulation few presidents have used with restraint.) Cecilia Esterline, an immigration rese
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The implications for the future of democracy in the U.S. detailed in the right wing’s Project 2025 and in its Trumpian mirror Agenda 47 are disastrous. But not enough attention has been paid to how those plans, if Republicans succeed in electing Trump and his minions, would affect hundreds of thousands of immigrants in this country, both legal and undocumented.
While Republican racist rhetoric is unleashed daily against migrants (much of it focused on Mexicans, Central and South Americans) we must not overlook Caribbean Americans. The U.S. Census Bureau’s 2021 American Community Survey (ACS) reported an estimate of over 3 million West Indians here, along with over 2.4 million Cubans, and 2.3 million Dominicans. The Haitian American community has been the most heavily targeted by anti-immigration forces, while many Cuban Americans have been the beneficiaries of immigration privilege.
“Caribbean Matters” is a weekly series from Daily Kos. If you are unfamiliar with the region, check out Caribbean Matters: Getting to know the countries of the Caribbean.
The Migration Policy Institute explains some of the differences in treatment that Cuban Americans face compared to Haitians:
Cubans and Haitians have received particular designations under U.S. immigration law, with Cubans uniquely preferenced.
The 1966 Cuban Adjustment Act provided Cubans admitted or paroled into the United States a direct pathway to legal permanent residence after just one year—the only fast-track designation of its type for a particular national origin. The 1994 and 1995 U.S.-Cuba Migration Accords further set the foundation for what became known as the “wet foot, dry foot” policy, enabling Cubans who reached U.S. land to apply for legal status, with or without a valid visa. (Cubans intercepted at sea are returned to the island.) The 1966 law and the wet foot, dry foot policy resulted in large increases in the U.S. Cuban population. In working to improve diplomatic relations with Cuba, the Obama administration ended the policy in early 2017. Cuban migrants arriving at a U.S. land border without prior authorization have since been subject to deportation on par with other foreign nationals.
[...]
Haitians have not had access to similarly favorable treatment, though some Haitians living in the United States without authorization have been granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS). TPS provides protection from removal and work authorization to foreign nationals from certain designated countries experiencing ongoing armed conflict, natural disaster, or other extraordinary conditions.
Immigration policy reporter Gaby Del Valle wrote for The Nation on how much harsher the Department of Homeland Security would be if Trump were elected to a second term:
People who are currently in the United States but lack permanent status—including people with temporary protected status and the hundreds of thousands of Afghans, Ukrainians, Venezuelans, Cubans, Nicaraguans, and Haitians recently admitted to the country under humanitarian parole—could have their status rescinded.
Under a second Trump administration, USCIS officers would be retrained to focus on “fraud detection rather than speed in processing.” Slow processing times would be used against migrants and prospective immigrants alike; the chapter suggests that, until the agency catches up on its backlog of cases, anyone whose application is rejected would be required to “leave the U.S. immediately,” eliminating any possibility of appealing the decision or reapplying from inside the country. USCIS would also increase the cost of all applications, implement fees for asylum petitions, and expand the “premium” processing track that would let people pay more to skip the line.
Congress hasn’t passed a major immigration law in decades, and the most recent attempt, which included plenty of restrictive policies that could have been plucked straight from the Heritage Foundation’s wish list, failed because Republicans refused to give President Biden a “victory” on immigration. Under Trump, the inverse would likely occur: Democrats who supported Biden’s attempted crackdown at the border would refuse to vote to codify policies backed by Trump. But Democratic opposition may be stymied if Republicans assume legislative control this November. With Congress on board, there is far more that Project 2025 envisions for Trump’s second term. The DHS chapter in Mandate calls on Congress to pass a bill that allocates additional funding for ICE agents to arrest immigrants living in the US; for the attorneys who argue for their deportations; and for more beds in immigrant detention facilities. To ensure that those beds are filled, the document also suggests that Congress change the law to state that noncitizens in deportation proceedings “shall” be detained. (Right now, the statute says immigrants “may” be detained, a stipulation few presidents have used with restraint.)
Cecilia Esterline, an immigration research analyst at the Niskanen Center think tank, wrote on how humanitarian relief and Temporary Protected Status would be undermined if Project 2025 were enacted:
The next Republican administration aligning with the Mandate would also strip hundreds of thousands of individuals, many of whom have been in the U.S. for decades, of their legal protections by repealing all Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designations. Congress established TPS as part of the Immigration Act of 1990, signed into law by Republican President George H. W. Bush offering legal protections and work authorization to nationals of countries designated as unfit for return due to ongoing armed conflicts, environmental disasters, or other extraordinary conditions. The Secretary of Homeland Security maintains authority over the designation of TPS countries and controls the timeline under which the individuals must have maintained continuance residence to be eligible for protection. Nearly 700,000 individuals would lose legal protections and work authorization by repealing all active TPS designations. Not only would it create an enormous burden for Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) to attempt to remove these individuals, but it would also have devastating consequences for our labor market, families who have resided in the U.S. for decades, and our economy, as home and business owners are forced to leave the country.
As a result of organizing and lobbying by the Haitian community and their allies in the community and in Congress, the Biden administration has shifted its position on TPS. The Associated Press reported in June:
About 300,000 Haitians already in the United States will now be eligible for temporary legal status allowing them to remain in the U.S. and work because conditions in the strife-torn Caribbean nation are considered unsafe for them to return, the Homeland Security Department said Friday.
The decision marks a major expansion of Temporary Protected Status for Haitians and won praise from many in the Haitian and immigration advocacy community.
The TPS designation was created by Congress in 1990 to prevent deportations to countries suffering natural disasters or civil strife. The Homeland Security secretary can grant temporary protection for different nationalities based on conditions in their home countries. It’s generally for a designated period, and people have to apply for the protection and prove they qualify for it. The protection also allows them to apply for a work permit.
This expansion will apply to Haitians who were in the United States on June 3 and will last until Feb. 3, 2026. Anyone arriving after June 3 would not qualify. Separately, Mayorkas also extended the Temporary Protected Status of an estimated 200,000 Haitians who already had it. Their extension will also last through Feb. 3, 2026.
Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez has been a strong voice in Congress, supporting extending TPS.
Guerline Jozef, a co-founder of The Haitian Bridge Alliance, which fights for Black immigrants, celebrated the Biden administration decision in this tweet:
What is truly frightening in the Project 2025 report and in Donald Trump’s rhetoric is the attack on constitutionally protected birthright citizenship. MPI’s take, written by Michael Fix, is sobering.
The reality is this: Repealing birthright citizenship would create a self-perpetuating class that would be excluded from social membership for generations. Working with researchers at Pennsylvania State University, the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) has found that ending birthright citizenship for U.S. babies with two unauthorized immigrant parents would increase the existing unauthorized population by 4.7 million people by 2050. Crucially, 1 million would be the children of two parents who themselves had been born in the United States. Under a scenario denying U.S. citizenship to babies with one parent who is unauthorized, our analysis finds that the unauthorized population would balloon to 24 million in 2050 from the 11 million today.
[...]
More crucially, the idea that the U.S.-born children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, etc. of people born in the United States would themselves inherit their forefathers’ lack of legal status would have deep implications for social cohesion and the strength of the democracy itself. This perpetuation of hereditary disadvantage based on the legal status of one’s ancestors would be unprecedented in U.S. immigration law. It also would be contrary to the American sense of fair play that has rejected visiting the sins of the parents on the children, thereby perpetuating the kind of hereditary disadvantage as practiced in many countries in Europe.
How many children in the United States today have parents who are unauthorized? By our estimate there are 5.1 million of them, with 4.1 million having U.S. citizenship at birth and another 100,000 holding a green card. The remaining 900,000 are themselves unauthorized.
A reminder on where Trump stands:
Trump’s allies in the Senate are pushing to end the birthright agenda. On June 6, 2024, Josie Lenora wrote for NPR on two bills introduced by Sen. Tom Cotton. One would end birthright citizenship and the other would put sanctions on the International Criminal Court:
Cotton said birthright citizenship has contributed to high levels of illegal immigration. The bill is also sponsored by Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn and Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio. It's titled “The Constitutional Citizenship Clarification Act.”
The bill aims to end the practice by amending the 1952 “Immigration and Nationality Act.” This law, passed during the Truman Administration, was set up to establish immigration quotas.
“There is no constitutional right for illegal aliens to cross the border to gain citizenship for their children,” said Cotton in a statement.
Under the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, people born in the United States are automatically citizens, even if their parents are not citizens.
In 2023, Republican Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz put forward a similar bill, the “End Birthright Citizenship Fraud Act of 2023,” which did not make it through the House. Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump has talked about ending birthright citizenship on the campaign trail. While president, he said he would end the practice through an executive order which never came into existence.
Trump’s vice presidential pick J.D. Vance is a co-sponsor, I see. Why am I not surprised? Spread the word to everyone you know, and make sure they get out and vote for Democrats to stop this inhumane immigration trajectory.
Join me in the comments section below for more, and for the weekly Caribbean news roundup.
