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Carolyn Van Houten

Regarding the Nov. 12 front-page article “<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2024/11/11/trump-border-policy-biden-rules/" target=_blank>This time, strict migration rules already in place</a>”:

Democrats have been called “bleeding-heart liberals” for a reason. They have shown great compassion for those who are suffering, deprived, discriminated against and mistreated. The plight of immigrants, who often have suffered violence, abuse and deprivation in their countries of origin, is certainly cause for concern. The United States has been a refuge for many such immigrants.

There was intense reaction against President-elect <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/donald-trump/" target="_blank" class="contextual_link">Donald Trump</a>’s harsh treatment of immigrants when he was president, such as separating children from their parents. Mr. Trump has demonized undocumented immigrants, calling them “rapists” and “criminals” and “snakes.” He has stirred up anti-immigrant anger to rally his base of mainly White supporters.

President Joe Biden, on the other hand, reversed many of Mr. Trump’s immigration policies, such as “<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/06/30/supreme-court-remain-in-mexico/" target=_blank>Remain in Mexico</a>.” Democrats decried this policy as inhumane because it subjected immigrants to violence and deprivation. Under Mr. Biden’s policies, those awaiting asylum were allowed to stay in the United States while their claims were resolved. Unfortunately, there has since been a dramatic increase in pending immigration cases in the United States — up to <a href="https://trac.syr.edu/immigration/quickfacts/eoir.html" target=_blank>roughly 3.7 million</a>. This influx of immigrants has overwhelmed cities such as Denver, Chicago and New York, where housing and feeding immigrants constitute a difficult burden.

Finally, this year, Mr. Biden acknowledged the problems that his policies created. He severely limited those who could wait in the United States and has decreased illegal border crossings by <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/u-s-mexico-border-migrant-crossings-reach-new-biden-era-low/" target=_blank>78 percent</a> since last December.

If Mr. Trump reinstates “Remain in Mexico,” Democrats will be in an uproar. Although I despise the cruelty, bigotry and inhumanity of what Mr. Trump stands for, Democrats’ lenient immigration policies have not worked. Most of the United States does not want to be saddled with the issues of other countries. I don’t want immigrants to suffer if they wait in Mexico until their claims are resolved. However, we must listen to the will of the American people.

The threat of mass deportation of immigrants has caused widespread concern. Many governors are searching for a valid method to resist some of the more inhumane and legally questionable elements of this threat. My suggestion is that they create a “State Office of Immigration Rights.”

This office, staffed by qualified attorneys — either paid or pro bono — could help any immigrant fearing deportation. The office could examine all aspects of the federal exercise of immigration law, including whether the search and seizure of immigrants’ homes, or interference with their jobs, are lawful, whether workplace seizures violate state laws, and whether immigrants are being denied due process.

<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/08/23/trump-birthright-citizenship-constitutional/" target=_blank>The Post reported</a> that the Trump administration might try to ignore the citizenship of those born in America. This could be another source of judicial intervention. Federal regulations cannot place an undue burden on the exercise of a constitutional right. Thus, it could be argued that any deportation of parents of citizen children must make reasonable accommodations, including deferring deportation of those with children under a certain age.

The writer is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University’s Law Center.

President-elect Donald Trump’s threats are greatly overstated. To carry out such an autocratic agenda, he would need competent and ruthless people in his administration. Instead, he has so far opted for Republican sycophants who are hardly qualified for their positions, such as Sen. Marco Rubio (Florida), Gov. Kristi L. Noem (South Dakota), Rep. Elise Stefanik (New York) and other dubious candidates. Stephen Miller’s plan for mass deportations will run into serious roadblocks when the costs — probably in the hundreds of billions of dollars — become evident. It will go the way of the wall from Mr. Trump’s first term.

As retired Gen. H.R. McMaster wrote in his recently published White House memoir, Mr. Trump is erratic, impulsive and unable to stick to any policy. Mr. Trump is no Vladimir Putin or Xi Jinping or Viktor Orban. In the House, Mr. Trump will have to contend with a slim, fractious majority that might struggle to achieve his goals. In the Senate, the Republican majority might not be willing to give up its advise-and-consent role so easily, which could lead to challenges for many of his appointments.

George Magakis Jr., Norristown, Pennsylvania

Immigration must be addressed with both wisdom and compassion. This should be a matter of the head (rational thinking) and not the heart (irrational passion).

President-elect Donald Trump ran on immigration. There is a notion that our immigration system is deeply broken, so swift and bold action is needed to reform it. However, any efforts to resolve the issues must be guided by fairness, humane treatment and practicality. Mass deportation is not the answer. It will not fix the border crisis.

Our country benefits from the labor and talents of undocumented immigrants in sectors including hospitality, agriculture and construction. We need a robust immigration system that continues to meet our economic needs. We should explore visa and work permit reforms that can address our industries’ needs, offering better legal pathways for migrant workers. If Mr. Trump went this route, he could create a more competitive economy and help fill vital jobs across the country.

We should give undocumented immigrants who are already working here a pathway to residence — at a cost. Once they pay a fee and meet other requirements, they can stay and work. Individuals with criminal backgrounds and other hindrances who fail to meet the immigration criteria would be deported.

I have no partisan interest or alignment, but I strongly believe there is a better way to balance enforcement with compassion, fairness with security and legality with humanity. Mr. Trump should use these ideals to make this country stronger, more united and more secure.

Marjorie Campbell, Brunswick, Georgia

One reality neither political party has explained to voters is the fact that <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/07/22/what-we-know-about-unauthorized-immigrants-living-in-the-us/" target="_blank">more than 8 million</a> undocumented immigrants, mostly from Mexico, are getting paid by American employers to perform a large share of the menial, backbreaking labor that native-born Americans are unwilling to perform.

Furthermore, the American Farm Bureau Federation states that “50 to 70 percent of farm laborers in the country today are unauthorized.”

It’s hard to imagine 1 million, let alone 1 billion, hand-tended objects on Earth. Yet every year, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/12/magazine/cherry-harvest-workers.html" target=_blank>approximately 24 billion</a> cherries, <a href="https://fruitgrowersnews.com/news/2024-25-u-s-apple-production-forecast-at-260-million-bushels/" target=_blank>30 billion</a> apples, <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/chart-gallery/gallery/chart-detail/?chartId=107215" target=_blank>3 billion</a> peaches, and billions of other fruits and vegetables are nurtured and handpicked in the United States, largely by America’s “illegal immigrants.”

How does President-elect Donald Trump’s plan to deport millions of essential workers solve any of our country’s problems?

Reggie Regrut, Phillipsburg, N.J.

President-elect Donald Trump says he will proceed with his plans for mass roundups and deportations of undocumented immigrants. But where are the clergy and the evangelical Christians who claim to respect life? Where is Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, who hosted Mr. Trump at the Al Smith Dinner in October?

Don’t those who claim to be Christian — who state that they live by Christian values, who claim to respect life — remember the biblical exhortations to love your neighbor and be kind to widows, orphans and strangers, who may have angels among them?

Christ is quoted in Matthew 25:40 as saying, “as ye have done it to the least of my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”

Christians’ silence is deafening. Their hypocrisy is stunning — and unsurprising.

Daniel Fink, Beverly Hills, California

Regarding the Nov. 13 news article “<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2024/11/11/trump-border-policy-biden-rules/" target=_blank>Mexico unprepared as mass deportations loom</a>”:

President-elect Donald Trump has said <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/11/18/there-arent-20-million-people-deport-trump-will-certainly-try/" target=_blank>he aims to deport</a> 15 million to 20 million immigrants from the United States. This would be an atrocity, a crime against humanity and, arguably, a form of ethnic cleansing. The media should not avoid using these strong words.

My grandparents were lucky to survive World War II-era deportations as children. After the war, there was no home for them to return to; the <a href="https://cadmus.eui.eu/bitstream/handle/1814/2599/HEC04-01.pdf" target=_blank>forced postwar resettlement</a> of more than 12 million ethnic Germans from Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Romania and elsewhere is described as the largest example of ethnic cleansing ever. Mr. Trump aims to exceed this figure by several million.

For centuries, the United States has been a beacon for victims of human rights abuses around the world, including my family. Instead of continuing that legacy, we — their descendants — are poised to commit one of history’s worst crimes against humanity.

James Malchow, Peapack, New Jersey

I’ve been reading about the promises to round up undocumented immigrants and scrap our health-care policies, among other issues. But I have never seen any tactics for how these goals will get accomplished. I reason that President-elect Donald Trump is incapable of understanding the details, so he keeps to overblown, grandiose thinking bent on frightening everyone while accomplishing little. I await a real plan, and I look forward to it crashing and burning.

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