Immigration Turmoil and the Cost of Broken Accountability

As systems collapse, who will stand up for us?

A week in, and everything is a mess.

How’s that for a brutally honest introduction?

Here’s some more brutal honesty: America's immigration system is undeniably broken. Most Americans agree with this, wherever they land on the political spectrum. Not doing anything about it isn’t an option, leaving two potential courses of action: fixing the system we have, or obliterating it with a sledgehammer. We all know Donald Trump’s preference. The thing is, a lot of Americans are pro-sledgehammer, too, because they felt like no one cared about the problem until Trump came along.

Now, we know that’s not true.

There were well-publicized efforts in Congress to reform immigration that spectacularly failed—the most recent was killed due to political pressure from Trump himself. And for that matter, Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden deported a lot of undocumented immigrants too. In fact, during his presidency, Joe Biden surpassed Donald Trump in deportations. In fiscal year 2024, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deported over 270,000 individuals, marking the highest annual number since 2014 and more than any year under Trump. (Yes, it’s true! You’d better grab that report before Trump and Stephen Miller realize it’s still accessible. Factual stats about the Biden Administration? Can’t have that!)