(CBS-DETROIT) – President-elect Donald Trump promised big changes to the United States immigration system when he was campaigning, and now local immigration groups tell CBS News Detroit they are doing everything they can to prepare.
“Our primary focus is to get as many applications as possible for the programs we are likely to be terminated from,” said Julie Powers, executive director of Immigration Law and Justice Michigan.
Trump spent much of his time talking about immigration and his own plans to begin mass deportations. It’s promises like the ones that Powers says make her clients feel anxious.
“They’re anxious. In some cases, they’re scared,” she said. “I think it ranges from confused and bewildered, not sure what it means. All the way to blind panic.’
According to the American Immigration Council, Michigan has more than 600,000 immigrants.
Christine Suave with the Michigan Immigrant Rights Centers says their focus now is on handling as many cases as possible.
“People who qualify for a work permit should apply now,” Suave said. “People who qualify for immigration relief, such as asylum or temporary protected status, should apply or renew.”
Suave says the rapid removal of such a large group of people with mixed immigration status could have a devastating impact on Michigan. Industries like agriculture, construction and even healthcare would take a hit. But the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) said in a statement that Trump “must send a clear message that people caught entering the country illegally will be detained and deported, and not released into the country. ”
They also write to end immigration programs that allow immigrants to live and work in the U.S. while they work toward their citizenship.
“[Trump] should also direct ICE to conduct workplace enforcement investigations of companies that displace American workers and exploit low-wage illegal aliens,” FAIR wrote.
Sauve warns that she foresees wider deportations.
“To achieve mass deportations, they may try to remove all non-citizens,” she said.
