Thinking About Immigration

Thoughts from the Minneapolitan son of immigrants

Immigrants are good for America, and we need a steady flow of legal immigrants to ensure our country's prosperity. The politics of immigration has become insane over the last ten years:

• Trump’s “build the wall” in his first term

• Biden’s open border policy in the first half of his term

• Trump’s second term of Federal occupations of blue cities and showy immigrant captures

During Trump’s 2024 campaign, he made a persuasive pitch to the electorate: “I will secure the borders, and I will capture and deport the worst of the worst (AKA dangerous criminal immigrants).” Even a pro-immigration liberal like me could get on board with that plan - but I assumed at the time that it was a lie and that Trump’s motivations were likely more nefarious. My skepticism is sadly coming true.

Here are some thoughts:

• Trump is punishing blue cities for being blue cities, first with troops and now with ICE. The goal feels like intimidation, not reducing crime, and deporting criminal immigrants. He is trying to condition us to conform to his will as the strongman who knows what is best for us. Trump has vowed a reckoning and retribution in Minnesota.

• I don’t doubt that during the Biden loose border era, where millions of immigrants entered the country, some of the “worst of the worst” also entered. But there are not enough “bad guys” for ICE to round up, and so ICE has to expand the plan to grab anyone who they think looks and sounds like an illegal immigrant (brown, black, broken English, etc.).

• DHS reported that over 2.5 million individuals left the U.S. in 2025, including 605,000+ forced deportations and 1.9 million “self-deportations.” That seems like an exaggeration - but I have no way of knowing. It is hard for me to believe the Trump administration’s claim of 2.5 million, given how frequently they lie.

• Various reports from reliable organizations have suggested that most immigrants seized by ICE in the last year are not criminals (beyond having entered the country illegally). But again, I don’t know, as there isn't transparency.

• Over my lifetime, we have had contradictory policies and attitudes on illegal immigration. The Federal government (whether Democrats or Republicans are in control) has enforced capture and deportation with varying degrees of effort. Businesses have benefited from illegal immigrants who are willing to work jobs that citizens won’t do, and have the threat of deportation hanging over their heads to keep them in line. Most illegal immigrants have been here at least 10 years and are contributing to the common good like U.S. citizens.

• I am ambivalent about Minneapolis being a sanctuary city. I get the motivation, but it seems problematic if our city is protecting actual criminals.

• Having lived through a defund the police movement in Minneapolis, I am skeptical of a defund ICE movement. To me, the problem is not that we have the concept of ICE, but that the Trump administration is misusing ICE.

• Managing immigration is feasible. Last year, freshman Senator Ruben Gallego (AZ-D) talked about immigration, and he made a lot of sense. This link has the details, but here are the highlights:

  1. Secure the border and keep our communities safe.

  2. Reform the asylum system to end abuse.

  3. Expand legal pathways to fuel economic prosperity.

  4. Bring people out of the shadows.

  5. Address root causes of migration.

• The polarization in our country saddens me. The killing of Renee Good has become a Rorschach Test of your politics: if you are on the left, Renee Good was a patriotic citizen protesting an unjust act and was killed in cold blood by a Federal thug. If you are on the right, she is a domestic terrorist who attacked a Federal agent and got what she deserved. The reality is likely more nuanced.

• The Trump administration has focused on social services fraud against Somalis. Yes, most of the Minnesota social service fraudsters prosecuted are Somalis, but sadly, defrauding the government and government-related corruption have become as American as apple pie.

• It is hard not to imagine things escalating in Minneapolis and Minnesota - I fear that things will get worse before better. It is not hard to imagine more ICE agents, Federal troops, and the Federal prosecution of Governor Walz and Mayor Frey.