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Ahead of second Trump term, California vows 'ironclad' abortion access

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Ahead of second Trump term, California vows 'ironclad' abortion access

California lawmakers are rushing to introduce legislation that reaffirms the state’s role as a reproductive rights “haven” as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to return to the White House and abortion rights advocates warn of an uncertain future.

Abortion remains legal in California, home to the strongest reproductive rights in the nation — unlike in some states, there is no required waiting period or counseling before the procedure, and minors can get abortions without parental involvement. In 2022, voters solidified abortion access in the state Constitution after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the federal right, limiting healthcare for millions of women.

But as Trump prepares to take the White House again, California’s Democratic leaders are adamant that not enough has been done to secure reproductive access in case of further federal rollbacks.

“The truth is, this is an urgent and dangerous situation,” California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta said at a news conference in Sacramento on Monday, pointing to renewed legal challenges to the distribution of abortion pills. “The right-wing extremists continue to wage attack after attack on our bodily autonomy at the expense of the health or life of pregnant persons.”

Bonta, a Democrat, said new legislative proposals will make reproductive rights in California “ironclad.”

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Gov. Gavin Newsom’s earlier focus on abortion rights after Trump’s first term — including ad campaigns in red states — have drawn criticism from California Republicans skeptical of his national political motives and praise from advocates who say it is better to be safe than sorry. He has signed dozens of bills firming up abortion access in recent years, but some of his plans have proved to be more flash than substance. A temporary law allowing doctors licensed in Arizona to provide abortions in California, for example, expired without any doctors using it.

“He makes the big pronouncements, but he’s not a very good executor of those policies,” said Assembly Republican leader James Gallagher of Yuba City. “It’s kind of become his M.O., to make a big splash and then nothing really ever comes of it.”

Democrats, however, see the need to shore up abortion access given the uncertainty of Trump’s plans. A bill introduced this week aims to ensure availability of mifepristone and misoprostol — the commonly used two-step medication abortion process — even if the Trump administration attempts to interfere.

At issue is how antiabortion government officials could revive and interpret the Comstock Act, a federal law that once banned the mailing of “obscene” materials related to abortions.

While Trump has said he has no plans to ban abortion nationwide, he has repeatedly flip-flopped on the issue and taken credit for appointing conservative Supreme Court justices who reversed the federal right to abortion with their decision in the landmark Dobbs case.

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Reproductive health advocates are worried that under his second term, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration could limit access to abortion medication. To lead the FDA, Trump has tapped Dr. Marty Makary, who has echoed antiabortion messages on Fox News about fetal pain — something disputed by major medical organizations.

The California bill by Assemblymember Maggy Krell (D-Sacramento), a legislative newcomer and former Planned Parenthood attorney, aims to ensure that Californians continue to have access to medication abortion for the foreseeable future and protects “manufacturers, distributors, authorized healthcare providers and individuals” from any legal action for distributing or administering the pills.

“There are emerging threats to the availability of mifepristone and misoprostol, and California may not be able to guarantee a continued supply,” the bill states. “Previously, Governor Newsom implemented a plan to stockpile doses of misoprostol. While this effort was successful, the Legislature finds that the state needs to renew its stockpile to ensure that Californians can continue to exercise their constitutional rights.”

Last year, Newsom rushed to stockpile hundreds of thousands of abortion pills after a Texas judge ruled against the authorization of the medication.

“We will not cave to extremists who are trying to outlaw these critical abortion services. Medication abortion remains legal in California,” Newsom said then.

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But, facing expiration dates, the state released the stockpile to the public before the U.S. Supreme Court decision that rejected the Texas court’s ruling.

In Washington, Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee chose to hold on to a similar stockpile in case Trump was elected again.

A spokesperson for Newsom said California “remains ready” to procure more pills if needed.

In another precautionary move last year, Newsom signed a law that allowed abortion providers in Arizona to temporarily practice in California. The action came after the Arizona Supreme Court reinstated an 1800s law that essentially banned all abortions.

No Arizona providers ended up using the program, which expired Dec. 1, according to the California Department of Consumer Affairs. Concerns settled in Arizona after Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs signed a bill that repealed the court decision, and voters last month passed a state constitutional amendment guaranteeing a right to abortion.

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The California legislation “was designed to serve as a swift stop gap measure to preserve continued access to abortion care, if necessary, during this very precarious moment,” California Department of Consumer Affairs spokesperson Monica Vargas said in an email when The Times asked for data about the program’s use.

Newsom also signed a law last year that allowed medical residents from states with “hostile” laws to get abortion training in California. The state does not require the California Medical Board to track whether that program is being used as intended, a spokesperson said.

For Republican critics like Gallagher, those programs are instances of “political theater” meant more to draw attention to an issue than provide substantive policy. Newsom this week called a special legislative session in Sacramento to prepare for legal combat with Trump on issues such as abortion and immigration — a move heralded by liberals as smart preparation for an unpredictable president and criticized by conservatives as unnecessary panic.

“In California, abortion is constitutionally protected, and you have a president-elect who has said very clearly he will not support any national abortion ban,” Gallagher said. “This perceived threat that they’re trying to make into a political volley … it’s just Newsom drawing attention to himself.”

Some abortion advocates said that they’d rather have a nimble governor like Newsom and be cautious even if the emergency plans don’t always pan out.

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“Now more than ever is the time for innovative policy solutions,” said Shannon Olivieri Hovis, a spokesperson for Essential Health Access. “And inevitably, it is going to be the case that not all solutions we put forth will be equally effective.”

Other bills introduced this week seeking to fill California’s reproductive health access gaps include a proposal to financially penalize cities and counties that block the building of abortion clinics, as has happened in Beverly Hills and Fontana.

Assemblymember Mia Bonta (D-Oakland) introduced a package of bills that would ensure hospitals enforce laws that require emergency rooms to provide abortion care; make it easier for Medi-Cal recipients to get birth control; and prevent birthing centers from closing.

About 40% of California counties don’t have abortion clinics, including rural areas where transportation can be a hurdle. In September, the state sued a Humboldt County Catholic hospital after a patient said she was denied an emergency abortion even as she feared for her life because of miscarriage risks.

“We have to be absolutely clear-eyed about the political and social moment we’re in right now … when we have a proven misogynist as a president,” said Mia Bonta, who is married to the attorney general, referring to Trump’s sexual abuse allegations and “your body, my choice” refrains that surged after his election.

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“I think while California has done an amazing job, we still have a lot of work to do to shore up the infrastructure of support for people who are seeking healthcare and abortion access and protection of our reproductive and sexual freedoms.”

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Blue state faces spike in migrant sex crimes as top city pledges resistance to Trump deportations

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Blue state faces spike in migrant sex crimes as top city pledges resistance to Trump deportations

Massachusetts has seen a spike in illegal migrants arrested for sex offenses over the last several months as the state and city of Boston have pledged to resist President-elect Donald Trump’s plans for mass deportations.

Since August, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officials have arrested 26 illegal migrants in the Boston area for sex crimes against children ranging from child rape to sexual assault to distributing child pornography.

Many of these migrants were previously removed from the U.S. only to later illegally re-enter the country.

As recently as Dec. 3, an illegal migrant, Adrian Patricio Huerta-Nivelo, 25, was removed by ICE after it was discovered he was wanted for rape of a minor in his home country of Ecuador.

ICE NABS ANOTHER ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT IN MASS. CHARGED WITH CHILD SEX CRIME, AS GOV SNUBS TRUMP DEPORTATIONS

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Flags fly above Boston City Hall on Nov. 11, 2021.  (Lane Turner/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Nivelo’s removal came just a day after the Boston City Council unanimously voted to reaffirm a 2019 measure restricting Boston police’s ability to cooperate with ICE in deporting illegal migrants. The measure seeks to protect immigrant communities from “unjust enforcement actions” and restricts Boston police’s ability to cooperate with ICE and bans police from keeping migrants in custody for possible deportation unless there is a criminal warrant.

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey has also vowed that state police would “absolutely not” assist Trump in the mass deportations operation.

Despite this, a spokesperson for Healey denied that Massachusetts is a “sanctuary state,” telling Fox News Digital that “as a former prosecutor and attorney general, the governor believes violent criminals should be deported.”

Boston officials have been largely silent on the series of sex crimes against residents in the city. Mayor Michelle Wu, a Democrat, and the Boston City Council did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

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MIGRANT ACCUSED OF VIOLENT CRIMES ARRESTED BY ICE AFTER MASSACHUSETTS COURT REFUSED TO HONOR DETAINER

In this undated photo, ICE agents arrest an illegal immigrant.

In this undated photo, ICE agents arrest an illegal immigrant. (Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE))

November

Boston ICE officials arrested six illegal migrants for sex crimes against children in November.

One of the most recent arrests, announced by ICE on Dec. 5, involved a 46-year-old Honduran national named Salvador Castro Garcia, who is charged with indecent assault and battery of a child under 14.

Garcia was previously deported in 2001 but then re-entered the country at an unknown location and time. ICE took Garcia into custody on Nov. 21 after he was released on bail by the Brockton District Court.

In addition to Garcia, Boston ICE ERO officials arrested Felix Meletz Guarcas, a 45-year-old Guatemalan national, on Nov. 20 after he was charged with multiple counts of sexual assault of a minor.

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‘SANCTUARY’ CITY MAYOR VOWS SHE WILL DEFY TRUMP’S MASS DEPORTATION PUSH: ‘CAUSING WIDESPREAD FEAR’

Felix Meletz Guarcas being arrested

Felix Meletz Guarcas, 45, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala, is charged with sexually assaulting a child in Rhode Island.  (ICE)

According to an ICE statement, the Rhode Island Department of Corrections refused ICE’s request to hold Guarcas in custody, forcing agents to make a dangerous arrest in a public parking lot. ICE is currently holding Guarcas in custody pending a hearing before an immigration judge.

On Nov. 18, Boston ICE officials arrested Belardis Tapia Gonzalez, a Dominican national charged with second-degree child molestation-sexual assault, and Alexandre Romao De Oliveira, who was charged with rape of a child in his home country of Brazil.

Billy Erney Buitrago-Bustos, a 42-year-old Colombian migrant, was arrested by ICE in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, on Nov. 15 after being charged with rape of a child by force, statutory rape, and aggravated rape against a minor.  

On Nov. 12, ICE arrested Guatemalan illegal migrant Mynor Stiven De Paz-Munoz, 21, in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, after he was charged in Massachusetts with rape of child by force, rape of a child and indecent assault and battery against a minor.

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alexandre-romao-de-oliveira-and-mynor-stiven-de-paz-munoz

ICE arrested three illegal immigrants in Massachusetts this week for alleged forcible rape of children. (ICE)

October

Boston ICE ERO arrested three illegal migrants for child sex crimes in October.

Officials arrested Andre Tiago Lucas, 36, from Brazil, on Oct. 31. Lucas fled his native country after being convicted of the rape of a 13-year-old child.

Two more migrants – Colombian national Mateo Hincapie Cardona, 28, and 20-year-old Guatemalan national Selvin Alex Galvez-Mejia – were arrested by Boston ICE ERO on Oct. 29 and Oct. 18, respectively.

Cardona is charged with enticing a child under 16, distribution of obscene matter, and lascivious posing and exhibiting a child in the nude. Mejia is charged with rape and indecent assault and battery against a minor.

ICE agents immigration

June 2, 2022: ICE agents conduct an enforcement operation in the U.S. interior. ((Immigration and Customs Enforcement))

September

Boston ICE officials arrested nine illegal migrants charged with sex crimes against children in September.

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Maynor Francisco Hernandez-Rodas, a 38-year-old Guatemalan national, was arrested by Boston ICE ERO on Sept. 20. He was charged with forcibly raping a Massachusetts minor.

Within a single week, seven illegal migrants – Abraham Malpica, Sept. 13, Angel Gabriel Deras-Mejia, Sept. 12, Enrique Alberto Ortiz-Brito, Sept. 12, Felix Alberto Perez-Gomez, Sept. 11, Gean Do Amaral Belafronte, Sept. 11, Jefferson Jerome, Sept. 11, Bryan Daniel Aldana-Arevalo, Sept. 10, Elmer Sola, Sept. 10 – were arrested by Boston ICE officials for sex crimes.

On Aug. 1 Jorge Luis Castro-Alvarado, 28, Guatemala, was arrested after raping a Massachusetts resident.

Mayor Michelle Wu

Mayor Michelle Wu on February 14, 2023 in Boston, Massachusetts  (Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images)

August

In August, six illegal migrants – Akim Marc Desire, 18, Haiti, Warley Neto, 24, Brazil, Elmer Perez, 49, Guatemala, Cory Bernard Alvarez, 26, Haiti, Marc Kervens Beauvais, 34, Haiti, Jackson Bento-Pinheiro, 35, Brazil – were arrested by Boston ICE for sex crimes against children.

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A trade war under Trump would bring major losses for California agriculture, experts warn

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A trade war under Trump would bring major losses for California agriculture, experts warn

As President-elect Donald Trump vows to impose tariffs on imports from China, Mexico and Canada, economists are warning that a retaliatory trade war could cause major financial damage for California’s agriculture industry.

In an analysis published before the presidential election, researchers examined potential scenarios of tariffs and retaliatory measures, and estimated that if a significant trade war occurs, California could see the value of its agricultural exports reduced by up to one-fourth, bringing as much as $6 billion in losses annually.

The experts at UC Davis and North Dakota State University said some of the most vulnerable commodities include pistachios, dairy products, wine and almonds, all of which are exported in large quantities to China.

“The worst-case scenario is pretty bleak,” said Sandro Steinbach, director of North Dakota State University’s Center for Agricultural Policy and Trade Studies. “Basically, tariffs are harmful to U.S. agriculture, and to California agriculture in particular, because they will invite tariff retaliation.”

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The researchers analyzed three scenarios of potential U.S. tariffs, two of them based on proposals floated by Trump and his campaign. They wrote that if the Trump administration were to impose large tariffs under the most extreme scenario, retaliatory measures by other countries “would have a ripple effect across the state, from the large almond orchards in the Central Valley to the small family vineyards scattered throughout wine country.”

Steinbach co-authored the research with UC Davis emeritus professor Colin A. Carter and North Dakota State doctoral researcher Yasin Yildirim.

They noted that California’s farmers previously experienced financial losses during Trump’s first administration, when the adoption of U.S. tariffs in 2018 prompted China to retaliate with tariffs on American agricultural goods. That hit California’s exports of major farm products, bringing losses for growers of walnuts, almonds and other crops.

The researchers said farmers in the Midwest received significant federal subsidies to cushion the blow in 2018 and 2019, but that California farmers were largely left out of the government compensation.

“If a new wave of aggressive protectionist policies is enacted, California’s agricultural exports could face similar consequences — up to $6 billion in annual losses — especially in key industries like pistachios, dairy, and wine,” the economists wrote.

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“Rather than pursuing policies that invite global retaliatory measures, the United States should work toward more balanced trade agreements that protect domestic industries without sparking harmful trade wars,” they said. “All countries involved in a trade war lose, and California agriculture simply cannot afford another trade war.”

The research was published by the University of California’s Giannini Foundation of Agricultural Economics.

The researchers studied one scenario in which the U.S. would impose a 10% import tariff on all goods from every country. They also examined an extreme scenario in which the U.S. would impose a 60% tariff on Chinese goods and a 10% tariff on imports from all other countries.

More recently, Trump has promised to impose 25% tariffs on all goods from Canada and Mexico, and also an additional 10% tariff on imports from China.

“The scale of a potential trade war and subsequent retaliation is considerably larger than we have seen before,” Steinbach said.

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The extent of the economic damage for California’s agriculture industry, and for producers of different crops, will depend on which approach Trump takes, Steinbach said. For example, if large U.S. tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods trigger retaliatory measures by those countries, California sellers of processed tomatoes would be hit especially hard because they depend on those countries to buy more than half of their exports.

In addition to the immediate losses the industry would face in a trade war, the costs of the disruptions probably would be lasting, Steinbach said, as foreign competitors take a larger market share and as uncertainty leads investors to put less money into California agriculture.

“We have climate uncertainty already. We have water policy uncertainty,” Steinbach said. “And if you add now an additional layer of trade and tariff policy on top of it, why would I want to invest a large amount of money into producing agricultural commodities?”

The researchers said farming areas in the Central Valley and Southern California are especially vulnerable to economic damage. They projected that five counties — Fresno, Kern, Tulare, Merced and Imperial — probably would bear the brunt of the losses in a trade war, accounting for 53% of the estimated total losses.

A majority of voters in each of those five counties voted for Trump in the election.

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In the case of pistachios, the crop is considered especially vulnerable because China accounts for a large share of California’s exports. Growers have also planted vast new pistachio orchards over the last decade, dramatically expanding production as they have sought to capitalize on the lucrative crop.

The researchers said that in a worst-case scenario, pistachio exports alone could suffer annual losses of up to $1 billion.

Other commodities that are projected to see substantial declines in exports include hay, walnuts, rice, beef, grapes, oranges and cotton.

Agriculture uses much of the water that is diverted and pumped in California. But Steinbach said the potential effects on farms’ water use, both regionally and statewide, are uncertain and will depend on a complex mix of factors.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has strongly criticized Trump’s plan to impose tariffs on Mexico and Canada. During a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border in San Diego County on Thursday, Newsom described the planned tariffs as a tax that would boost food prices for Americans and add to inflation.

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“Don’t think for a second this won’t impact you,” Newsom said.

The governor said that California will be affected more severely than any other state, and that farmers and ranchers “will be impacted disproportionately if these tariffs go into effect.” He said that’s before considering Trump’s plan to carry out mass deportations of undocumented immigrants, who are a large portion of California’s farmworkers.

“I hope we could all agree the impacts on this region and your pocketbook will universally be felt regardless of your politics,” Newsom said. “That’s a betrayal that needs to be revealed to those that embraced and supported this agenda. That betrayal is taking place in real time. You are being betrayed by these policies.”

Trump’s transition team responded in a written statement, saying the president-elect’s policies will benefit all Americans.

“President Trump has promised tariff policies that protect the American manufacturers and working men and women from the unfair practices of foreign companies and foreign markets,” Trump transition team spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said in the statement.

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Shannon Douglass, president of the California Farm Bureau, said in an email that the state’s agriculture business “has faced significant challenges due to past trade disputes.”

“We advocate for fair trade practices and urge the federal government to prioritize policies that protect and strengthen the viability and sustainability of our nation’s agricultural sector,” Douglass said.

The plans for tariffs bring additional uncertainty for almond growers who have already been struggling because of declines in prices over the last decade. Some of those declines resulted from the last round of retaliatory tariffs imposed by China in 2018.

This year, almond prices have begun to increase again.

“The market’s rebounding. It’s coming back. Growers are still hurting,” said Jake Wenger, general manager of the Salida Hulling Assn., which runs an almond-hulling plant in Modesto. “This year, people should at least be able to pay their bills, but I do know of growers that have had to sell off some of their land to pay bills, to pay debts, just to stay in business.”

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Wenger said there are about 110 growers in his co-op, but he hasn’t heard anyone voicing concerns about tariffs.

“I don’t think anybody’s that worried,” he said. “There are going to be some changes, yep, but we’ll see what happens, what changes do come, and we’ll roll with the punches, like farmers always do.”

Keith Schneller, the trade policy advisor for the Almond Board of California, said the almond industry “continues to support reducing barriers to trade.”

“We are following these discussions,” he said, “but until the next administration’s agriculture and trade policy positions are more defined, it is difficult to know what the implications might be for California almonds.”

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Incoming Missouri state lawmaker introduces bill to give $1K to anyone who turns in illegal migrants

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Incoming Missouri state lawmaker introduces bill to give K to anyone who turns in illegal migrants

An incoming Missouri state lawmaker introduced a bill to provide $1,000 to people who report illegal migrants to authorities.

Republican state Sen.-elect David Gregory proposed a measure that would offer $1,000 to any person who turned in an illegal migrant who is subsequently arrested.

SB 72 would allow the state’s Department of Public Safety to “develop an information system for people to report violations of this act which shall include a toll-free telephone hotline, e-mail and online reporting portal.”

BLUE STATE COUNTY TEES UP VOTE ON ‘KNEE-JERK’ RESOLUTION TO PROTECT ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS FROM DEPORTATIONS

Immigrants line up at a remote U.S. Border Patrol processing center after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border on December 7, 2023, in Lukeville, Arizona. (John Moore/Getty Images)

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The bill would also create the “Missouri Illegal Alien Certified Bounty Hunter Program” which would allow local citizens to serve as bounty hunters “for the purpose of finding and detaining illegal aliens” in the state.

Only bail bond agents and surety recovery agents may apply to the program to serve as bounty hunters.

The proposal would also make it a felony for anyone to be in the state as an illegal migrant.

ANOTHER MAJOR BLUE CITY DOUBLES DOWN ON VOW TO OBSTRUCT TRUMP’S MASS DEPORTATION PLAN

Migrants CBP One

Migrants wait in line to enter the shelter set up by the authorities for migrants as migrants wait for an appointment through the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) one application in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, on May 23, 2023. (Christian Torres Chavez/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

“As I ran for State Senate, I promised to make Missouri a national leader in combating illegal immigration,” Gregory said in a post on the social media platform X.

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“Now, I’m following through with my promise. SB 72 makes it a felony to be here illegally and the bill will finally allow Missouri law enforcement to find and arrest illegal immigrants,” he continued. “We need all hands on deck to ensure we catch illegal immigrants BEFORE they commit violent crimes.”

Migrants board a state-sponsored bus to New York

Migrants board a state-sponsored bus to New York outside the Mission: Border Hope non-profit organization in Eagle Pass, Texas, on Monday, March 11, 2024. (Christopher Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

President-elect Trump has promised mass deportations in his second administration.

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