“Illegal entry will immediately be halted, and we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens to the places from which they came,” were the exact words of President Donald Trump during his inauguration on 20 January, 2025.
Following these bold statements, Trump has so far stayed true to his word, implementing several executive orders that directly impact immigrants and the organisations that support them.
Some of the most notable orders include his plan to end birthright citizenship, which has been blocked by several judges, ramping up mass deportations with increasingly aggressive border control, and his plans to expand Guantanamo Bay’s immigration detention to incarcerate 30,000 individuals.
These decisions, as Trump highlighted in his speech, were presented as “a top priority to create a nation that is proud, prosperous, and free.”
However, the use of the term “free” is ironic, as those who are fleeing war, genocide, unthinkable violence, and hardship have had their chance of freedom snatched away.
Global impact
The reach of Trump’s policies is having a significant global impact.
Mukobelwa Cadet, a refugee now living in Uganda’s KYAKA II camp, fled the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2019 after surviving a tribal war that claimed the lives of his parents.
He shared his frustration about the impact of these policies on their lives, particularly highlighting the freeze on USAID funding in Africa, which traditionally receives the majority of the $72 billion aid budget.
“Trump’s administration has severely impacted our lives in the camp,” Mukobelwa explained. “We are struggling with inadequate food support from the World Food Programme (WFP), and cuts to education funding have affected many of my friends who had received scholarships. The process has been suspended, with no updates expected for 90 days.”
The impact of the 90-day aid freeze has been felt not only in Uganda but also in Ethiopia. For example, 34,880 metric tonnes of food supplies — enough to feed 2.1 million people for a month — are now trapped in Djibouti’s port due to a lack of funds to pay contractors, putting the food at risk of spoiling.
Additionally, vital processes such as refugee settlement have come to a halt.
Mukobelwa shared his own experience, saying, “I had an interview scheduled for 23 February, but it was cancelled, and many of us have had our processes suspended indefinitely.”
In Thailand, Naiyana Thanawattho, Executive Director of Asylum Access Thailand (AAT), also weighed in on the broader disruption: “The recent suspension of US funding has significantly disrupted our core services, including legal aid, case management, and community empowerment programmes for refugees and asylum seekers in Thailand.”
As a result, AAT has had to downsize by 50%.
Naiyana continued, “Refugees already face substantial challenges due to a lack of formal recognition and work rights. These cuts put thousands of vulnerable individuals at greater risk.”
Stripping away rights and opportunities
Describing the situation for those midway through their asylum process, Naiyana said they are now in “a devastating limbo.”
One refugee in Thailand, speaking through AAT, told The New Arab: “This is a very, very sad time and a stressful moment. We are still struggling to accept the reality and find the strength to deal with that.”
In saying this, Naiyana clarified that the person was in the resettlement process and was scheduled to leave by the end of January, but everything was canceled at the last minute.
Linh Tran Flores, an immigration lawyer and former refugee from Vietnam who is now a US citizen, also commented on the consequences of Trump’s policies: “It deeply saddens me to witness President Trump transform America from a nation that once offered refuge to those in danger into one that now turns its back on the most vulnerable.”
Linh continued, “These immigrants enriched the American economy, served in the military, drove scientific and technological advancements, and contributed to our culture and arts. Unfortunately, the president disregards these invaluable contributions and countless others made by immigrants.”
For context, between 2022 and 2024, immigrants who had resided in the US for a year or more consistently had higher employment levels than US citizens.
According to an analysis by the American Immigration Council based on US Census Bureau data, immigrants in the US generated approximately $1.6 trillion in economic activity in 2022, the most recent year for which data is available.
Additionally, they also contributed over $579 billion in local, state, and federal taxes.
Immigrants make up crucial proportions of the US workforce, with over 25% of workers in the agriculture industry and 27.7% of all health aides being immigrants, according to the same census.
Reflecting on her own experience, Linh shared, “Growing up in America, I was grateful for the opportunity my family was given to start a new life here.
“My parents always encouraged us to pursue higher education so we could give back to the country that welcomed us.
“It breaks my heart to think of the refugees and asylum seekers, especially the children, who are now being turned away and denied that same opportunity.”
Linh also emphasised how Trump’s “use of misinformation and inflammatory rhetoric” fuels negative stereotypes and misconceptions about immigrants, particularly refugees and asylum seekers.
The rhetoric, she argued, portrays immigrants “as criminals or burdens on society.”
To counteract the damage, Linh suggested, “Sharing factual information, reliable data, and real stories, rather than sensationalised soundbites or clickbait headlines.
“Those with a platform have a responsibility to be the voice for the silenced,” she added.
‘State of emergency’
Just 48 hours after returning to office, Trump signed an executive order declaring a state of emergency on the Mexico-US border. The declaration also ordered the Secretaries of Defense and Homeland Security to finish the border wall along the southern border.
Lucía Chávez Vargas, Executive Director of Asylum Access Mexico, spoke to The New Arab about the current situation: “We experienced a state funding reduction at a time when our work was increasing, which forced us to reduce our staff.”
Though the executive order to freeze funds was temporarily suspended in early February, the challenges persist.
Lucía explained, “The US is becoming a less viable option for many immigrants from Latin America, so many are now seeing Mexico as a better option. However, we fear that the government is not ready to receive these people and grant them refugee status.”
Summarising the consensus among Asylum Access clients in Mexico, Lucía stated, “Many are hopeful that Trump’s policies will change, but we are seeing that, in fact, these policies are becoming progressively more restrictive.”
Preparing for the worst
Laura*, an advocate for immigrants working for a nonprofit in Washington, DC, shared her concern for those she supports: “We are just trying to ensure people are informed, as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is known for not always strictly abiding by the law.”
Laura went on to explain, “During the raids, enforcement is not always taking the time to properly understand the legal status of each person, sometimes targeting people based on their appearance.
“There have been many cases of ICE rounding up people who are citizens or have their correct paperwork, which leads to them targeting everybody who does not visibly appear as a white American.”
To best support her clients, Linh said she educates them on their civil rights, advising them on what to do if Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) shows up and how to navigate the interaction.
“When appropriate, I provide my clients with a letter outlining their current immigration status, which they can present to officers, which may help prevent wrongful arrests or detentions,” she said.
According to Laura, the panic caused by mass deportations has been widespread, with immigrant communities experiencing a “loss of sanctuary,” as people now fear being caught in places once safe, like schools and places of worship, which are increasingly controlled by ICE officers.
This fear was sadly shown when news came out about an 11-year-old Mexican girl, Jocelynn Rojo Carranza, living in Texas, who took her own life on February 8 after bullies at school threatened to call immigration police on her family, highlighting the fear immigrants are facing today.
Gender adds another dimension to the fear. Laura recalled one of her clients, a female journalist who received asylum from Afghanistan, saying she would rather die than be deported, as she knows the torture she would endure would be much worse if she were to return.
“Torture of women is almost always sexualised,” she added.
*Names have been changed to protect the identity of the person and their colleagues
Olivia Hooper is a British journalist based in Morocco specialising in humanitarian and gender-based topics and is the co-director of Politics4Her
