Deportation in Local Scale
“Hablas español?”
I hear this several times a day at my job, and each and every time I have to respond with “No hablo español.”
Living in Colorado with a strong Latino population should’ve encouraged me to learn the language, but I decided otherwise. My horrible Spanish isn’t the only issue with these interactions; it’s the underlying hardships immigrants face today in the United States.
In March of 2025, Donald Trump enacted the Alien Enemies Act, calling for the deportation of all Venezuelan citizens 14 or older who are not permanent residents or citizens. The generalization Trump has cast over all Venezuelans past the pubescent age of 14 as murderers, drug traffickers, and criminals is beyond rational explanation. While some domestic issues are a result of Venezuelan cartels and the violence of the Tren de Aragua, a gang that specialized in overseas criminal activity, it is dangerously presumptuous of Trump to encompass the entirety of the Venezuelan population in the US as contributors to the actions of one terrorist organization. Not to mention, the detainment of unaffiliated minors simply because of their ethnicity directly falls under the category of racism.
Although this news is anything but original from Donald Trump, his removal of DEI programs to enforce his “anti-white racism” ideals falls perfectly in tandem with the unreasonable deportation of minors. However, the danger of these actions and the effects of his decisions are felt beyond Trump’s field of vision.
From his view in the Oval Office, Trump fails to acknowledge the devastating effects of his policies. While he wants to build our domestic economy and help the nation prosper, his actions pose an inverse effect for many Americans, not just illegal immigrants. Mass deportation levels in the US have dropped median household incomes by 47% for those affected which include immigrants, impoverished naturalized citizens, and manual labor workers . Cutting nearly half of a household’s income is beyond devastating for those families and contributes to the growing number of homeless people on the streets. Trump’s policies have also increased inaccessibility for legal immigrants and U.S.-born workers to obtain jobs because as vacancies increase, employers choose more efficient manufacturing methods over manual labor as it becomes more cost-effective. An analysis by the Joint Economic Community also describes how deportations contribute to a net reduction in earnings and employment for naturalized citizens. While Trump tries to support his actions for the promised prosperity of the nation, he is harming the lives of millions.
The areas most devastated by deportation are the manual labor and agriculture sectors of America. Colorado alone has 30 million acres of agricultural land which are often run by undocumented immigrants. Manual labor service jobs like those at construction sites, warehouses, and janitorial staff are, in majority, occupied by illegal immigrants. I see in my hometown of Centennial, Colorado a group of Latino men waiting outside Home Depot every morning hoping for work, trying to contribute to the local economy. Illegal immigrants are hardworking, tax-paying citizens that contributed over 10.6 billion dollars in local taxes in 2010 alone.
The cooks from my favorite Mexican restaurants, the janitor that always met me with a smile are not aliens but neighbors, friends, and loved ones. These people are real, their impact is felt, and their absence is unthinkable.
Despite all of my criticisms on Trumps’ deportation policies, I understand part of his initiative is to keep America safe from dangerous gangs like Tren de Aragua, but how does a small Latino family with big dreams concern the safety of our nation? How does suspending refugee resettlement programs help the economy recover from a stock market crash that Trump himself created? Trump is not cognizant of the lives he’s devastated; he can’t comprehend how his hypocritical mindset has led to such cultural, economical, and social disruption. Until he has walked the footsteps of immigrants and understood the value of their importance not just nationally but locally, his mindset will remain fixed.