The Day After: Memo to Immigrants Facing the Threat of Deportation

By: Richard Hanus, Esq.

November 6, 2024

With a Donald Trump election victory and his upcoming, second term as President, millions in our nation’s undocumented immigrant communities are in a state of despair, wondering what is going to happen to them come January.   Assuming Trump follows through with some version of the massive immigration enforcement initiative he promised, below are my top 7 ideas for undocumented immigrants and their families to keep in mind:

1. Do not panic!  For the vast majority of undocumented immigrants, immigration enforcement agents cannot just arrest you and remove you from the U.S.   You are entitled to due process which includes a hearing before a judge in Removal Proceedings (also known as Deportation Proceedings) and representation by counsel at no cost to the government.
2. Do not act on rumors!   Confirm any huge consequential immigration news you hear by way of multiple reliable sources, including by consulting with reputable immigration counsel.  The more vulnerable you are, the more you are inclined to believe the unbelievable, especially if it involves something catastrophic or an easy remedy. To be sure, for every piece of legitimate news there will be twice the amount of noise or fake stories.
3. Many long time undocumented residents in the U.S. may have a defense and perhaps a path to Green Card status by way of “Cancellation of Removal for Nonpermanent Residents”.   Cancellation of Removal is an avenue of relief from removal proceedings where the undocumented individual can prove a) they have been present in the U.S. at least 10 years, b) they are of “good moral character”, and c) their forced removal would cause “extreme and exceptionally unusual” hardship to their U.S. citizen or Permanent Resident – parent, child (under 21) and/or spouse.
4.  Many undocumented immigrants may have an asylum or withholding of removal claim in defense of removal proceedings.  This type of defense could lead to some form of legalization and will rest on the foreign national’s ability to prove that: a) they face some threat to their life or liberty in their home country due to their race, religion, political belief or “social group” AND b) that the danger stems from the acts of their home country’s government or groups their government cannot or will not control.
5. Many undocumented immigrants may have the kind of family ties in the U.S. (e.g. spouse of U.S. citizen, parent of adult U.S. citizen, other immediate family relationships) that will establish a path toward legalizing their status, whether in the U.S. in defense of removal proceedings or by way of a process at a U.S. consular post in their home country.
6. Undocumented immigrants with family in the U.S. military may find themselves with options for legalizing their status and in defense of removal proceedings.
7. Undocumented victims of certain kinds of crimes may have a defense to removal proceedings by applying for a U visa, an option that leads to the issuance of employment authorization and eventually a Green Card and U.S. citizenship.

The playing field has yet to be determined, as we do not know the exact nature of enforcement measures that are to come.  Further, we do not know if there will be any possibilities of expanded or reduced options with which undocumented immigrants will be in position to fight removal.  In the meantime, keep calm and make sure to follow the latest, most important U.S. immigration law news by signing up to  receive “Richard’s Blog” (published biweekly) – at https://www.usavisacounsel.com/newsletter