While Latinos are generally more moderate on immigration policy than the average American, a considerable number appear to favor punitive measures. In a recent poll, 53 percent of Hispanic voters said they would support the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants, with 50 percent supporting “large detention centers” for those awaiting possible deportation.
Trump’s plans to carry out the largest mass deportation campaign in history are no secret — he refers to them frequently in stump speeches. And the outlines of the plans have been amply documented. Trump is aiming to expel at least 15 million undocumented people from the country. (For a sense of scale, compare this figure to the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which currently protects more than 500,000 “dreamers.”) These vulnerable millions know no other country but this one. If they are forced to leave everything they have behind overnight, their anguish will make the hideous stories of family separations we heard during the first Trump term pale in comparison.
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