The Trump administration’s hard-line on immigration, from Muslim bans to the termination of the DACA program, may actually be having a paradoxical effect when it comes to public opinion. Indeed, polls are showing increasing support for giving unauthorized immigrants a path to citizenship rather than deporting them and for allowing undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children to remain in the country and avail themselves of certain benefits. Indeed, several recent polls from the last three months have shown that approximately two-thirds of Americans support some type of immigration reform and endorse pro-immigration views. Interestingly, the support spans across party lines. Whether this translates to the implementation of any DACA replacement programming or other congressional immigration reform legislative acts certainly remains a question.
Edward Shulman, Esq. of the Immigration Law Firm, The Shulman Law Group, LLC, was interviewed this morning in front of the Elmwood Park Free Public Library in Elmwood Park, New Jersey by the Immigration Advocacy Center about the recent polls and current public opinion about immigration as a result of the Trump administration. He stated that “the public backlash to the DACA termination and other anti-immigration policies certainly suggests that even if Trump continues to set forth anti-immigrant policies during his tenure, there will be pressure on his political successors by the public, by advocacy groups, by immigration lawyers, and by business entities to reverse any of these measures once he leaves office.” Shulman also stressed that it is important for undocumented immigrants not to become demoralized and to be proactive in learning their rights and uncovering all of the possible avenues of legal relief to which they may avail themselves despite some of the policies and actions being currently set forth during Trump’s administration.