The More Americans See of Trump’s Immigration Crackdown, The Less They Like It
By SheerPost - Alliyah Lusuegro / OtherWords - October 9, 2025
For a nation of immigrants, the Trump administration’s attacks on immigration are nothing short of heartbreaking. Each day, we’re seeing neighbors kidnapped from our streets, detained in unsafe and inhumane conditions, and deported without due process to countries they’ve never known.
If there’s one silver lining, it’s this: The more Americans see of this agenda, the less they like it. And the more immigrants tell their stories, the better people understand why they belong.
Over 15 percent of Americans are immigrants. If you live here, there’s a good chance you know one. Since the late 1800s, we’ve called on immigrants to work in industry, health care, hospitality, agriculture, and other essential jobs. Immigration is a core to our story about who we are.
Immigrants contribute greatly to our culture and economy. They work jobs, pay taxes, volunteer in churches and schools, support American sports teams, and eat American foods. In 2022, immigrants paid nearly $100 billion in federal, state, and local taxes — more than many big name corporations.
At the root of why immigrants come to this country is the promise of a better life — a better job, a better education for their children, a chance to reunite with family. It’s not an easy choice to pick up and leave, and the journey is often perilous. But it’s often the only choice for migrants facing violence, death threats, climate disasters, or extreme poverty.
Against all odds, on average a few million have made their way here each year for the past five years. And generally speaking, the American people want them here — over 60 percent of Americans now disapprove of Trump’s cruel treatment of immigrants.
It turns out that deporting people to unsafe “third countries” they’ve never been to, building concentration camps like Alligator Alcatraz, attempting to end birthright citizenship, and deputizing local and state police as immigration enforcement are all unpopular.
Immigrants without a criminal conviction now make up the largest group of people arrested and detained by ICE. Yet the GOP’s Big Ugly Bill provided $170 billion to enact Trump’s unpopular mass deportation agenda.
Immigrant advocates like Jeanette Vizguerra are fighting back. The cost can be great — but the American people are listening.
Jeanette is a mother of four, an undocumented worker, and long-time immigrant rights activist currently in ICE detention despite having no criminal record. She founded the Metro Denver Sanctuary Coalition and, in 2017, was named one of TIME Magazine’s 100 most influential people.
On March 17, ICE agents detained Jeanette outside the Target store where she worked. She’s fighting her case in court, arguing that the Trump administration targeted her for her activism. Hundreds of union members, friends, and supporters have rallied outside the Aurora, Colorado detention center where she’s being held.
Also crucial to the movement are groups fighting immigration enforcement and detention. The Detention Watch Network works with local members across the nation to shut down detention facilities and block ICE expansion, urges lawmakers to cut enforcement and detention funding, and educates the public about the impact of immigration policy on ordinary people.
Both Jeanette and Detention Watch Network strive to shift from an immigration approach that emphasizes punishment to one built on dignity and freedom. Together, they’ve been awarded the 49th Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Award by the Institute for Policy Studies, my organization, for their ongoing bravery and commitment to protecting our neighbors and loved ones.
The immigrant rights movement continues to fight for the human right to move and stay — and for dignified lives for all. And even with little support among mainstream politicians or the media, they’re making a huge impact in this dangerous time: Nearly 80 percent of Americans now say immigration is good for this country — a record high.
It’s time for our lawmakers and politicians to listen to their constituents. Immigration should remain a vital part of the U.S. past, present, and future.
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Alliyah Lusuegro
Alliyah Lusuegro is the Outreach Coordinator for the National Priorities Project at the Institute for Policy Studies. AuthorSite
