They are never going to deport them all

Americans aren't going to tolerate ripping apart communities of law-abiding, hard-working people who have been here for decades.

Credit: wikicommons; Source: Homeland Security Administration.

Despite what Stephen Miller and MAGA want, we are never going to deport all 14 million immigrants here illegally. Rounding them up and shipping them off was always going to be ugly and brutal. Americans are not going to stand for it.

The undocumented population stayed remarkably stable at about 11 million for most of the 21st century until the recent surge. In the past 20 years, Republicans have killed four serious proposals to fix our broken immigration system because their base won’t accept any compromise that allows people to stay.

During the Republican National Convention, delegates waved “Mass Deportations Now!” signs. Now, we are getting what they wanted. Stephen Miller and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem increased quotas for ICE and CBP agents to detain 3,000 people per day—regardless of whether they are law-abiding or not.

To put that in perspective, 3,000 people per day is about 1.1 million per year. At that rate, deporting 14 million people will take more than 12 years. This will inevitably disrupt entire communities, split families, and lead to mistakes where legal residents and U.S. citizens are detained. They already are.

Americans won’t put up with heavily armed agents roving their streets and dragging people out of their homes and jobs. The vast majority of immigrants are hardworking and law-abiding; they are looking for a better life, not to scam the system or rob people. They are not violent criminals, despite what conservatives say.

Entering the country illegally is just a misdemeanor. Whether they overstayed visas, applied for asylum, or crossed the border, about 80% are only guilty of that misdemeanor. Removing them will get increasingly disruptive. Getting violent or habitual criminals is the easy part—many are already in jails or prisons and communities won’t protect them.

Once the “bad guys” are gone, the only people left are those seeking a better life. About 45% have lived here peacefully for more than 20 years and have been accepted by their communities. Deporting them will cause substantial disruption, even if conservatives cheer from the sidelines.

Most people believe we are the land of opportunity where those who work hard can build a life. They don’t believe agents should be dragging people into overcrowded detention centers. As we’ve seen, removing long-term residents will become politically untenable. Republicans might benefit from the issue during some election cycles, but the backlash to actual deportations will be fierce.

The answer is for Republicans to ignore their base and reach a deal that secures the border while offering a path to citizenship for those who have worked here for years. “No amnesty” has failed for decades. Donald Trump tanked the last effort to fix the system in 2024 when he killed Senator James Lankford’s bipartisan bill. He wanted to use the issue to bash immigrants on the campaign trail. Now, he’s trying to fulfill that promise, and it’s not working out so well.

We cannot remain the land of opportunity while turning our neighborhoods into a war zone. If Republicans continue to choose mass deportation over common-sense reform, they will find that the opposition isn't just coming from activists, but from every American who values community stability over political cruelty.