A Front-Row Seat

Over the past three issues, coinciding with the inauguration of President Donald J. Trump to a second term as the chief executive, The Express News Group has been exploring the potential fallout of Trump’s tough new immigration policies on the East End, in a series titled “Crackdown.” It concludes this week with a conversation about the potential impact on the businesses and economy of the region, which relies heavily on immigrant labor in so many sectors.

Trump’s win in November appears to have been driven largely by his rhetoric on immigration, which was embraced by a nation that seems ready for just such a crackdown. It’s fair to say that the Democratic Party message, which did not acknowledge a rising frustration, never had a chance against the full-throated anger voiced by Republicans. That said, it’s a point of fact that both parties, over several administrations, have failed to come up with workable policies at the borders.

There has not been an approach acknowledging that asylum seekers have a right to seek refuge in the United States, according to both U.S. and international law — but also establishing a system that does not, by default, allow a steady stream of men, women and children to enter and stay while their applications for asylum are adjudicated. The result has been something like an open-door policy in practice, fueled by the difficult circumstances in so many Central American, South American and Caribbean countries, not to mention other war-torn corners of the planet, and the frank need for more working-age men and women in America’s burgeoning service economy.

The East End has been a destination for many workers, and they’ve found economic opportunities. In many cases, they’ve built new lives here, become a contributing part of the community, and put down roots, with their kids in local schools and lives that intertwine with those who have been here for generations, and those who have relocated here from other parts of America for those same opportunities. A snapshot of life on the East End today would show a population neatly intermingled with white, Black and brown faces of all kinds, with Latino and Hispanic families shuffled into the deck of everyday life tightly. However people arrived here, many have found a welcoming home.

So there’s a reason this part of the country might be more sensitive to how a looming crackdown on undocumented workers will land. Whatever the politics, whatever the history that brought people into our midst, they are here now, and part of our society.

The narrative has begun to shift, with observers keeping a tight focus on “criminals” within the immigrant community, and it’s hard to argue against the swift identification, detention and deportation of truly dangerous people. But those who fully support the Trump administration’s new policies should understand the wariness of brutality, the wielding of a word like “criminal” to apply to all kinds of men and women who might have made minor mistakes, or been caught up in circumstances, and are hardly a threat.

Similarly, there’s a narrative that, for instance, schoolchildren shouldn’t be afraid — they’re not the targets of a crackdown on criminals. But the fact is that the Trump administration has enacted a policy that excludes both schools and houses of worship from raids by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It seems specious to suggest that’s not designed to terrify people, and not just “criminals.” And one has to wonder when the notion of “criminal” will be quickly expanded beyond the relatively small number of truly dangerous people to rope in everyone considered to have broken the law simply with their presence. In fact, it’s already happening — changes in policy have suddenly created unwitting lawbreakers.

Vice President J.D. Vance has suggested that “kicking out illegal immigrants” will have positive effects on the U.S. economy, forcing employers to hire more American workers at a higher pay scale, and also will improve the housing market because they will no longer be “competing for those homes.” The truth might be more complicated — The Washington Post has noted that foreign-born workers make up about a third of the construction workforce, so there could be a slowdown in that industry, which will have a negative effect on both new housing and the economy.

What’s certain is that the East End will be a canary in the coalmine. Assuming there will be aggressive attempts to enforce the new immigration policy here — there’s no reason to think this region will be immune, though more densely populated urban centers are likely to take precedence — we will see the impact clearly. We will see how it will affect our neighbors’ lives, how it will impact families, how businesses will pivot to survive (or not), how housing opportunities will expand (or not).

Like it or not, we have a front-row seat to the new reality of an immigration crackdown. Don’t look away — we need to bear witness and decide if this is the America we want to be.