Trump's Deportations Betray American Ideals

On the 20th of January 2025, Donald Trump was inaugurated for his second and final term as President of the United States, the ‘leader of the free world’. However, today there are few characteristics that can define the USA as free, especially for non-white citizens or migrants. Over the 115 days in his Presidency the dynamics of the current world order has adjusted relationships and methods of operations almost on a daily occurrence. Most notably there have been an ongoing series of tariffs imposed on various sectors, commodities and countries. Some brief examples include steel and aluminum, cars, films, computers and smartphones. The countries that have received tariffs include China, Mexico, Canada and the UK.

The justification for these substantial measures is centered in nationalism, by advancing domestically produced goods and eliminating the perception of being ‘cheated’ by foreign entities. However, this rhetoric of being excluded and not understanding the real impact behind tariffs is not being extended to targeting human beings. 

This has resulted in the deportation of 142,000 individuals between the 20th of January and the 29th of April. Furthermore, to add insult to injury, in March President Trump invoked the 1798 Alien Enemies Act which allows the president to detain or deport natives and citizens of an ‘enemy’ nation.

The use of this legislation is not only outdated, imposed outside of its jurisdiction, but is also dangerous to countless individuals and their families. The law originally was designed for wartime threats as part of the Alien and Sedition Acts, aimed to strengthen national security against tension with France during the Quasi-War. These actions pose major concerns beginning with the fact that the law invoked outside of a declared war circumvents the strides that human rights standards have made, racially profiling individuals and potentially leans on being unconstitutional for mass deportation without due process. Bypassing the legal safeguards for individuals and labeling them as ‘enemies’ raises red flags for future immigration and asylum scenarios, leaving one to ponder who is the real enemy whom tears families apart across borders, and oftentimes to lands that they have no affiliation with, such as the case with over 100 Venezuelans who are believed to be located in Cecot, a massive prison in El Salvador. 

To exacerbate the challenges, third-country detentions raise significant problems revolving around accountability and legal responsibility, especially considering that according to the families, the detainees are being treated and labelled as violent criminals and terrorists without any court judgements. Furthermore, there is yet to be an official publicised list of detainees from the US or Salvadoran authorities, while their legal statuses remain unclear. Such secrecy is extremely concerning because of the human rights abuses, legal responsibility, as well as the moral and political consequences for the US’s global standing. For much of President Trump’s campaigning he emphasised that he is ‘for the people’, yet such actions towards the Venezuelans and Salavorans directly opposes the president’s declaration, the actions damage the US’s credibility as a defender of human rights and its democratic values, and may further weaken the already strained relationship the country has with other Latin American countries. 

Moreover, there are reports that for many of these detainees, they were not informed of the intention behind the US’s government to deport them to a third country where many were denied access to legal counsel, thereby disenfranchising a fair opportunity to contest their deportation, effectively constituting a forced expulsion. Family members of the detainees are without any information about their loved ones’ whereabouts and this highlights the US’s severe lack in transparency and accountability. The president of the USA has a very colourful legal past in his personal capacity, with slogans of ‘Make America Great Again’, can one truly be surprised what foreign individuals are being treated with this level of disdain and dehumanisation, particularly from a country that has been built off of slavery and immigrants?

But as a global community, what are we doing for these people and for those whose stories have not yet seen the front pages of our newspapers? The reality is the world has a tendency to look to powerful Western countries such as the USA as pillars of moral, political and just practice, but it could be argued that these foundational principles are only applied when it is convenient. The concept of a 'leader of the free world' is incompatible with practices that undermine individuals' presumption of innocence and result in criminalisation without due process; human rights should not be contingent on nationality or immigration status. Given these actions, the future of America’s global image as a defender of human rights and the people will be very contentious. 

By Banthati Sekwala: 

Associate at BRICS+ Consulting Group Egyptian and South African Specialist

**The Views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of Independent Media or IOL.

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