Trump Accuses Migrants Amidst Accusations of Human Smuggling Activities

Trump's antagonistic crusade against Latino migrants, particularly Venezuelans, takes a center stage in his political agenda. This crusade, fueled by alliances with conservative figures, has led to a aggressive campaign that targets immigrants as scapegoats for broader geopolitical conflicts.

Trump viciously lashes out at the working class, complementing his brutal attacks with a systematic demonization of immigrants. During his electoral campaigns, he not only vowed to implement large-scale deportations but also vilified migrants to an unprecedented degree.

In 2015, Trump vowed to expel millions of undocumented immigrants. Upon his return to the presidency in 2025, he again pledged to round up millions for what he boasted would be the biggest deportation operation in US history. However, the truth of immigrant deportations is far from his lofty promises.

Contrary to his grandiose rhetoric, Trump deported less than one million after his first term, a number significantly lower than the 11 million he promised to expel. This was even less than the 1.6 million evicted by his Democratic predecessor Barack Obama in his first 4 years in office. While Democrat Joe Biden still holds the record for the most deportations in a year, Trump is determined to outdo him.

To achieve this, Trump and his ideological confederates aim to end birthright citizenship, a move that would disproportionately affect nearly 65 million Latinos in the US. Arbitrary arrests, harsh deportations, and the revocation of documentation - even for legal residents - are on the rise, with Latino immigrants serving as the primary targets in operations filled with racial profiling.

Trump also seeks to terminate the Humanitarian Parole program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans (CHNV). However, the revocation has been halted as part of ongoing legal proceedings. Ironically, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, once a vocal advocate for Cuban immigrants, now pushes policies that strip them of legal protection.

Furthermore, Trump's vilification of migrants allows him to pose as a protector of American workers, an image far from the truth. Trump falsely portrays immigrants as a threat to the working class. But in reality, studies demonstrate that immigrants do not commit crime at a higher rate than their native-born counterparts.

Trump's claims of Venezuelan migrants being members of the Tren de Aragua gang stand on the flimsiest of reasons, such as a tattoo in support of a football club. This conflates immigrants with criminality, especially those from Venezuela. In December 2024, the US designated the Tren de Aragua as a "transnational criminal organization" (TCO). However, its existence was being politically weaponized to create a circle of conflation from migrant to criminal to gang member and then terrorist. Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act accusing the Venezuelan government of an "invasion" by the Tren de Aragua.

Despite claims by Trump, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Maria Corina Machado, and US senators like Ted Cruz, the gang is not a national security problem for the US. El Pais has verified that the gang is "without the capacity to be a national security problem". And Trump's own US Intelligence Community assessment concluded that the gang was not acting on the Venezuelan government's orders. The US's usage of the Alien Enemies Act to deport individuals based on alleged gang affiliations raises legal and ethical concerns. The administration lacks transparency regarding deportation criteria, exhibiting a blatant disregard for due process. Many deportees are detained without evidence, arrest warrants, or probable cause - let alone justification for their imprisonment. The degrading treatment of detainees and the obsessive drive to deport Latinos has drawn wide condemnation.

Despite His Promises, Trump Deported Less Than One Million Immigrants, Significantly Lower Than His Projected 11 Million.
Trump's Aggressive Deportation Campaign Targets Immigrants, With Latinos Being the Primary Focus of Profiling.
In an Attempt to Nullify the Effects of Migration, Trump Seeks to End Birthright Citizenship, Impacting Nearly 65 Million Latinos in the US.
The Revocation of the Humanitarian Parole Program for CHNV Migrants Has Been Haltered by Ongoing Legal Proceedings.
Trump's Deporteration Practices Raise Legal and Ethical Concerns, as Many Detainees are Detained Without Evidence, Arrest Warrants, or Probable Cause.