Notre Dame reacts as deportations move forward
During the 2024 election campaign, President Trump promised to heavily restrict illegal immigration and deport illegal aliens already in the U.S. In recent weeks, the president and his administration, under the leadership of Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and border czar Tom Homan, have delivered on that promise. The White House has made robust statements advocating for the deportation of illegal immigrants.
The reactions both across the country and at Notre Dame have been varied. The Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents across the country have been increasing their efforts to meet the administration’s demands in what President Trump calls “the largest mass deportation in history.”
Most recently, Kilmar Abgreo Garcia, a Maryland resident alleged by the Trump administration to be a member of Salvadoran street gang MS-13, was mistakenly deported to El Salvador. Senator Chris Van Hollen visited El Salvador this past week in an attempt to negotiate with Salvadoran officials for his release, which they have thus far refused. In a TruthSocial statement on Good Friday, the president called Van Hollen a “grandstander.”
The White House Instagram page posted an edited photo of a New York Times headline reestablishing their position surrounding the deported man. The administration stands by its statement of the man’s affiliation with the MS-13 gang, with President Trump showing a picture of Garcia’s knuckles bearing MS-13-linked tattoos.
President Trump met with Nayib Bukele, the President of El Salvador, to speak further about deportation efforts and the administration’s commitment to cracking down on illegal immigration. The number of illegal border crossings has plummeted since Trump took office in January. According to a UMass poll, there is still significant support on the Republican side for Trump’s immigration policies, but some are split.
Duncan Hall resident and English major Owen Augustine told the Rover, “I am all for keeping our country safe and keeping dangerous people out. However, it needs to be done justly and lawfully. Regardless of how dangerous or illegal someone is, the beauty of the Constitution is that everyone is given due process under the law. For instance, the legal proceedings for the people who orchestrated the 9/11 attacks are still ongoing. They are being given a fair and lawful trial.”
Augustine stressed the importance of due process saying, “Justice is not reserved for the popular or the innocent, but is a right for all, even the most vilified. This is not a sign of weakness; it’s a testament to the strength of our democratic ideals.”
Trump’s positions on immigration have also been tested by the courts. The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments regarding the automatic granting of birthright citizenship under the 14th amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The courts have taken direct action to Trump’s deportation efforts as well. In a decision released to the public on April 19, the court decided in a 7–2 decision to temporarily pause deportations to Venezuela from Texas under the Alien Enemies Act of 1796 in a lawsuit brought by the ACLU. Justices Alito and Thomas dissented.
Keough Hall resident Jack Rankin criticized the policy action taken by the administration, telling the Rover, “As a Catholic, the current deportation policy is inhumane and injects fear into a society where it is already abundant. It threatens the economic and social activity of vibrant American immigrant communities writ large and in this way is a detriment to all of us.”
Junior engineering student Ethan Stone told the Rover, “Donald Trump campaigned on the promise that he would rectify the failures of the previous administration in their allowance of a massive increase in illegal immigration. However, resistance to this promise—stemming from legal injunctions, direct affronts to the First Amendment, and poor communication from the Trump Administration responding to accusations of mistakes in deportation—has hindered the fulfillment of this campaign promise.”
Kevin Andrews is a sophomore in Keough Hall majoring in political science and economics. When not covering international war, he can be found in Duncan Student Center, wasting his Flex points, probably on Chick-fil-A. He can be reached at kandrew6@nd.edu.
Photo Credit: WikiMedia Commons
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