Key Takeaways
- Donald Trump’s mass deportation promise threatens to destabilize Portuguese communities in sanctuary cities, including Newark, New Jersey.
- The logistical and financial demands of mass deportations, estimated at $315 billion, make their large-scale execution unlikely.
- Trump’s immigration rhetoric is already causing widespread fear among immigrant communities, even as its feasibility remains in question.
The renewed promise of mass deportations by Donald Trump has sent shock waves out to immigrant communities across the US, especially in sanctuary cities such as Newark, NJ. The Portugees moved to a home in a poor part of Newark, where a vibrant Portuguese community had existed for years and became a refuge for undocumented immigrants. Even sanctuary cities may not be able to help so much with Trump’s aggressive policies and rhetoric.
Sanctuary Cities Under Fire
Newark, for example, is an example of sanctuary city, which operate under local and state laws limiting cooperation with federal immigration authority. Similar protections give undocumented immigrants a kind of safety, giving them the ability to live and work without fearing deportation constantly. Yet Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh of the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) said that despite these cities, federal agencies like ICE can still work in them, eventually absorbing local resistance. The result? But the legal safeguards were not enough to protect immigrant populations living in these areas.
Not all states or local governments will cooperate with ICE, but that doesn’t make it impossible for the government to carry out deportations. Despite all of this, federal agents can still raid and detain people, but with greater difficulty, and with less success in states. For Portuguese immigrants in Newark, this does not just mean the threat of deportation is more on the horizon, it is more on an immediate basis.
A Plan of Unprecedented Scale
Trump’s promise to deport ‘millions of illegals instantly’ would be logistically, and financially, impossible to carry out. A Conservative District Attorney calculating the cost of such a crackdown would estimate that it would cost the U.S. $315 billion — more than just direct operational costs but also economic repercussions such as labour market disruptions.
But the costs don’t stop at financial. Deporting that many millions would require huge expansion in detention and transportation facilities, additional transportation logistics, plus the cooperation of countries of origination. Among them, some nations have strained diplomatic ties with the U.S. or the missing infrastructure to accept huge numbers of deportees. It would also mean every adult immigrant would have to undergo ICE agent first contact, as ICE would have to hire and train with massive numbers of new agents, as Trump has envisioned.
Still, Trump’s Republican controlled Congress may hand him more access to federal funding for immigration enforcement. For communities like Newark, those fears loom bigger than ever as the stakes are raised.
Portuguese Communities in the Crosshairs
Among those most at risk are Portuguese immigrants in Newark, a city where Portuguese make up such a large share of the population. The city for many is a safe haven, a place to start rebuilding their lives before becoming a paying member of the local economy. But Trump’s policies could destabilise it.
In a recent interview, a 30 year old undocumented Portuguese immigrant, known only as Lourenço, provided a rare view. Yet Lourenço was an admirer of Trump, whose attention he thought was being paid to expelling criminals, not law abiding undocumented people. Lourenço also said he planned to marry an American citizen and take advantage of that status to remain in the country legitimately.
But Lourenço may be more optimistic than others. They bring with them for many undocumented immigrants uncertainty and anxiety about deportation. Once sanctuaries, these cities seem to be targets for federal intervention.
The Politics of Fear and Division
Immigration is not just a Trump policy directive; it is also his tool to energise his vote base. But his rhetoric has real consequences. Millions of undocumented immigrants have made fear of deportation a daily reality, affecting everything from their mental health to a lack of job security and a feeling of nonbelonging.
According to Portuguese communities, the stakes are high. However, historically, these communities have been a significant part of the social and economic fibre of cities like Newark. Mass deportations would not only cause damage to individual families, but they would also carry ripples throughout neighbourhoods and local economies.
What Lies Ahead?
The future remains uncertain. Logistical challenges of mass deportations are obvious, but equally so are their political and social implications. Even if the dimensions of Trump’s plans are beyond reach, the fear of deportation is as real today for immigrants in sanctuary cities as ever.
But for the Portuguese of Newark, the question isn’t just whether they’ll be deported, it’s how they’ll navigate being scared and uncertain in a system more and more hostile to their very presence. But as Trump’s policies come into being, these communities will need to figure out how to adapt, resist, and stay alive.
