Trump promised to deport “the worst of the worst” when he campaigned for re-election. But everyone has seen that zealous ICE agents most of those arrested and deported have no criminal records. Most are hard-working immigrants who want to be good citizens. But there is no legal path to citizenship. Stephen Miller wants to rid the nation of all immigrants, especially if they have brown skin, no matter how exemplary their life has been.
The leadership of our country has initiated one of the darkest moments in American history.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
ONE OF THE GOALS OF ICE is to arrest immigrants by using such force and cruelty that the ICE actions trigger group actions against ICE of such a scale that Trump has the excuse to declare that there is an “insurrection”.
Civil rights and immigrant rights organizations must make special efforts to restrain people from taking actions against ICE that would give Trump the excuse to declare “insurrection”.
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“…organizations must make special efforts to restrain people from taking actions against ICE that would give Trump the excuse to declare “insurrection”.
Yes! Absolutely!!! And not just organizations, but also on a personal level it’s necessary, so that the dictator-wannabe does not claim he has good reason to cancel elections, because voting is critically important for our ability to be represented by people who will adhere to the Constitution, respect our rights and maintain democracy –especially in 2026!
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Trump ignores the Constitution. He does whatever he wants.
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Amurikkka!
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During the Biden years, 10+ million people crossed the borders. 95+% of them are not criminals or terrorists, and 95+% of them are low-skilled, low-income workers.
You have claimed many times that you oppose open borders, but you have never said what limits on immigration you favor. Billions of people would come to the U.S. if they could. Would you let all of them come and stay forever? Specifics please, not just airy generalizations about paths to citizenship, etc.
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Several sectors of the American economic system, such as agriculture and home construction and hospitality, have depended for many decades on undocumented immigrant labor. It’s absurd and cruel and stupid to pretend that this has not long been a working and workable reality.
Real word, not ideological bullshit.
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You are correct that several sectors of the economy have depended on cheap labor, I.e. labor that undercuts the wages of citizens. You regard yourself as morally superior for supporting this system. Meanwhile, millions of blue collar people who long voted for Democrats voted for Trump for just this reason.
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Not an informed comment. Economists know that the net result of undocumented immigration is about a 1 percent INCREASE in the jobs available to citizens. Why? Well, undocumented immigrants, like everyone else, consume things and thus create demand. They buy groceries and gas, and this demand creates jobs. And they start businesses at ten times the rate that citizens do, and they higher both other undocumented immigrants and citizens (to do such jobs as construction and landscaping). And they qualify for almost no government services. They pay taxes but don’t get social security and Medicaid or Medicare, for example.
Try actually learning something about this topic before you pontificate about it.
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Bob,
A Trumper hates immigrants because they are taking “our” jobs. There be a great demand for workers in farming and the hospitality industry. Will those who now celebrate their ouster rush to work on farms?
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Jo,
Do you or your children want the jobs that immigrants held before they were deported? Do you want to be a dishwasher in a restaurant? Do you want to plant and pick the crops? Do you want to be a maid in a hotel? These are not blue-collar jobs. Do you want any of them?
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I store articles for various topics that interest me; that’s easy to do in this digital age. I have dozens of essays where liberal economists and politicians said that massive immigration of low skilled, low income people is a net drain on public finances. The economics of such immigration have not changed. What has changed since 2008 is the politics. Democratic politicians and left-wing activists now oppose all limits on immigration as a means to achieve long term political power. Low information people get suckered into believing that such immigration is a net benefit.
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Max,
You may recall that Democrats and Republicans in the Senate worked out a bipartisan reform bill to change the immigration system.
Candidate Trump insisted that they kill the deal because he wanted to use immigration as a campaign issue.
Who wants to keep the issue at fever pitch?
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For decades, several sectors of the U.S. economy, including agriculture and hospitality and construction, have depended heavily on cheap, undocumented immigrant labor. It’s stupid and unrealistic to pretend that this has not been a working reality.
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With the exception of Indigenous People/Native Americans/First Nations (whatever they want to be called), we ALL come from immigrants. Every last one of us. That’s the genuine history of America’s population growth since 1492 –and virtually everyone on the planet knows it. If the immigrants coming today were mostly from Norway or other predominantly white countries, like Slovenian, where the First Lady came from, and not brown or black people, immigration would not be seen as such a huge problem by MAGATs & their leader. This is about racism, xenophobia, The Great Replacement conspiracy theory and a preference for white people.
We have a huge country, with only about 342M people and there’s plenty of room for more –especially in a lot of the red states, which I recall Tim Russert referring to as “the empty states” because many of them are so scarcely populated.
The entire planet has only 8.2 billion people, so it looks like you grossly exaggerated the claim that “Billions of people would come to the U.S. if they could,” in order to scare folks here and justify white preference. And this is despite the fact that so many immigrants are hard working people who come here because they see America as “the land of opportunity.” And many stay even though a lot of them get very low wages –and they have to pay taxes but get nothing in return.
Seeing immigrants as inherently bad for our country is the cruelty I think Diane was referring to, because people with heart and brains know that, like our own immigrant families, fellow human beings do not deserve to be seen as unworthy and treated inhumanely. As in many of our own backgrounds, immigrants came here because they were escaping oppression and seeking a better life. They have long made valuable contributions to our country and they should not be judged by their skin color, religion, gender, etc.
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Ben,
Our immigration system is broken. There are few or no paths to citizenship. That’s a fact. Not open borders, but a reasonable way to apply for a green card and get on a path to citizenship.
I am a child of immigrants: my mother was born in Bessarabia. My father’s father immigrated from Poland. They loved America. So do I.
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As always, you dodged a direct question. What limits would you place on immigration of people who can only do low wage labor and thus receive far more in public benefits than they will ever pay in taxes? You favor open borders, i.e. giving everyone who enters the country paperwork that allows them to stay forever.
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thus receive far more in public benefits than they will ever pay in taxesThat’s just false, as you would know if you had actually studied this. I refer you to the excellent resources on the topic available from Brookings.
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thus receive far more in public benefits than they will ever pay in taxesThat’s just false, as you would know if you had actually studied this. I refer you to the excellent resources on the topic available from Brookings.
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Ben,
It’s above my pay grade to decide how many immigrants should be legally admitted to enter the U.S. every year.
Why do you say that immigrants “can only do low wage labor”? Many have skills and professions that they left behind. And yes, we need low-wage labor? Once they are all done, who will do the work they do on farms, in the back of restaurants, in hotels?
Are you willing to take any of the jobs they do? Are your children? Why not?
Did you know that Senator John F. Kennedy wrote a book Called “A Nation of Immigrants”? Why do you hate them?
And no, the undocumented do not collect public benefits. Those who do have earned them.
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All the above comments have neglected to mention that numerous compromises have been offered ever since early in the Obama administration. Each of these has been speared by those who wanted to demagogue the issue for their own gain. Indeed, neither in the first or second Trump term have we seen substantial suggestion as to how this issue might be laid to rest to the agreement of all.
Trump’s behavior has made it obvious that Republicans always wanted this issue to remain unsolved. That way claims like the one above can continue to drive a wedge into a gullible public, and unconstitutional means to enforce immigration can seep surreptitiously into the system.
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Open borders
Two starting points: 1) What are our guiding principles? 2) What’s the data?
Do we start with the principles in the Declaration of Independence, the Preamble, the Statue of Liberty plaque, U.N. agreements and similar others? It’s either that or declare we are isolationists with closed borders.
In addition to offering safe harbor, what roles (not “who?” or “what people?”) are assets in the U.S.? Doctors, nurses, and other professionals? Research students? Artists and athletes? Farm labor, blue collar labor, hospitals, hotels, and others. And – will American citizens lose jobs in any of those areas? I’ve yet to hear the answer is “yes”.
If our principles are to “give me your tired, poor, hungry… yearning to be free and “to our posterity” then we negotiate.
It’s not that simple. “Who do you let in?” is a political question. What makes America America, What adds agency to people, serves humanity, and What supports our people and economy, are among those goals.
Then ask “Who?”
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Our Southern border was created by taking a HUGE swath of land from the Spanish-speaking folks to the South. We called it the Mexican War. Congressman Lincoln oposed it. There is a poverty problem and a border problem in our time. We might try what we did in Europe after WW II, a “Marshall” type plan of aid for neighboring poverty. Can’t afford it? We spend litterally trillions on war material and wars–as in the Middle East. We could divert that money from the military-industrial complex to peaceful purposes with our neighbors–instead of attacking them here or there. As a veteran, I remember my pledge to the Constitution–not endless war. As a history teacher, I hope to see us turn away from using bombs and bullets for every real or imagined problem. We will never solve our international problems militarily. Some don’t want them solved, as they make easy issues for demogogary. Lets don’t deal with poverty in our own society, let’s switch the topic to the so-called “dangerous hombres” crossing our borders. Never mind the real statistics that most immigrants commit less, not more, crimes than we do. Peace!
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The leadership of our country has initiated one of the darkest moments in American history.
Precisely
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The leadership of our country has initiated one of the darkest moments in American history.
Precisely
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I pray for the day when the likes of Trump and Noem and Miller as standing in the dock charged with Crimes against Humanity.
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are standing
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Which, of course , is known as terrorism.
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I’ve read this blog numerous times when the topic has been massive, illegal immigration of low-skilled people. The same commenters weigh in with their stock answers that are 100% based on emotion, 0% on rational analysis. One commenter always cites the Brookings Institution as the final word on this topic, as if Brookings conclusions are as scientifically valid as conclusions in the hard sciences that can be replicated in laboratories. They’re not, and other credible studies dispute the Brookings findings. I’ll go with common sense and the experience of someone who has a long background in tax, accounting, and CFO jobs. Low income people don’t pay much in taxes because of the progressive structure of the income tax system, federal and states where they have income taxes. Illegal/undocumented people receive not all public assistance benefits, but they do receive many of them: ER care, hospital care if they need it, public school services for their kids, publicly financed housing in many areas (e.g. NYC), law enforcement for the small criminal elements, etc. The end goal of the pro-open borders advocates (e.g. Diane Ravitch) is to grant them citizenship so they can vote and receive all public assistance benefits that low income people qualify for. Low income citizens receive far more in public program benefits than they pay in taxes: that’s a deliberate part of our welfare system and one that a huge majority of Americans supports.
There are very few “jobs that Americans won’t do”, the only one with any plausibility being farm labor. BLS data show that all other occupations have a workforce comprised of a majority of legal workers, citizens and legal immigrants. It’s true that it is very difficult to find citizens who will work for $10/hour construction jobs, whereas desperate illegals will. That is why working class citizens have voted strongly – and quite counterintuitively – for the plutocratic Trump. Commenters on this blog with their secure public employee pensions aren’t threatened economically by low wage labor.
Congressional action was not needed to secure the southern border, as what has happened in 2025 has shown beyond all doubt. What was needed was a President committed to border security. A large majority of 2024 voters knew that Harris was not serious about controlling immigration – hence the odious Trump is again President.
The United States benefits from immigration of higher skilled people. Few people claim otherwise, and Trump certainly doesn’t. In any case, the year is 2025, not 1825. We don’t need hundreds of millions of extra people in the country. Our health care system would be overwhelmed by such numbers, along with other public services. I borrow a phrase: “Those who fight reality lose. Reality is an undefeated champion.”
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David,
I was not familiar with your name, at first, and I’ve read every comment on this blog since 2012.
Then I discovered that you did comment here last November, in support of Trump.
“Since this blog values newspaper endorsements for President, here’s a perspective that few readers of this blog ever come across. It’s just easier for them to let MSNBC tell them what to think.
“https://nypost.com/2024/10/25/opinion/the-post-endorses-donald-trump-for-president-the-clear-choice-for-a-better-future/”
The nation is currently 20% Hispanic. It is about 51% white. No matter how many Hispanics you deport, you won’t achieve your goal of an all-white nation (not that it ever was).
Currently the deportations have swept up American citizens; most of those detained are hard-working people who have never committed a crime.
Certain industries have been hard hit: agriculture, hospitality (restaurants and hotels), and construction.
Will you volunteer to plant and pick the crops? Who will?
Your hero Trump is closing the borders not just to immigrants but to tourists. The tourist industry has been hard hit. Canadians are not vacationing here. They won’t buy American whiskey either; distilleries in Kentucky–including Jim Beam, the largest–are closing down.
I can’t take seriously anyone who thinks this racist, sexist conman is doing what’s right for America. He’s too busy selling pardons, Bibles, cryptocurrency, and making real estate deals with other autocrats to stuff his pockets.
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You are again in error: I did not vote for Trump or Harris in 2024. You assumed that because I don’t agree with you on everything that I like Trump – I don’t agree with him on many issues.
Almost all of the people detained by ICE are not here legally. Your implied slur that I am racist is not justified, but such slurs are typical of this blog. I recall you doing the same thing to a now former friend who had helped you write at least one of your books.
If the American economy actually needs labor in various industries, do it the legal way and in justifiable numbers, not by the wholesale importation of people – open borders – that you favor. The effect of massive low skilled immigration is wage suppression in many industries, construction definitely being one of them. I’ll cite a recent andecdotal example that could be cited thousands of times all over the U.S.
Several weeks ago I paid a tree service $2500 to trim very overgrown ash trees on my property. That work is quite dangerous, and workers compensation insurance premiums are very high. The owner of that small company and four of his employees – all citizens who spoke with American accents – did the work over two days. During a work break, he told me that he is aware of seven other competitive firms that do the same work who all employ nearly 100% illegal labor. They charge much less for the work, they pay their employees much less than American citizens are paid, they have no benefits, and they pay no workers compensation premiums. If an employee gets injured, he goes to an ER and receives care, the costs of which are eaten by the hospital. He wonders how long he can compete with those types of firms.
You are OK with that arrangement. You are financially comfortable and can feel morally superior to citizens who are worried about their livelihoods.
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I don’t recall saying anything bad about any of those people who were a co-author with me on any of my books.
Why do you waste your time reading a blog that you hate?
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Diane, A lot of people who make the same claims as this guy are right-leaning (and vote) Libertarian. They act as if that’s so much better than MAGA, but it’s just as self-centered, racist and focused on the holy dollar…
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He’s a high-falutin’ MAGA. They come here and read from the same script. Their comments are identifiable because of their hostility. And they all say that I support “open borders,” which I do not. I don’t know why I waste my breath responding. They come back even nastier.
At present, there is no path to citizenship. Even those born here are at risk of deportation, as are those who married American citizens many years ago.
One friend has a son-in-law born in a South American country. He came here as a child. He has been a good husband and father for 20 years, with a good job and no criminal record. He may be deported. Why?
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Why? Racism against brown and black people. It’s kind of weird how many of those who come here deny supporting and voting for Trump, but when your role model is a liar (he has even denied being racist), then I guess it’s no wonder that his followers would do the same…
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Not a co-author, but someone who helped you with at least one of your books: Robert Pondiscio. I recall the online skirmish at that time when RP wrote on his Facebook page: “Shame on you, Diane.” You remember that incident full well.
ECE Professional obviously knows very little about Libertarians. Almost all of them – definitely the CATO Institute – favor 100% open borders or vastly expanded immigration of people with all types of skill levels.
BTW, here are recent words from Bernie Sanders: He went on to argue that securing the U.S. border “ain’t that hard to do,” and declared that “Trump did a better job. I don’t like Trump, you know, but we should have a secure border Biden didn’t do it.” Now do the usual thing and call Sanders a racist, fascist, xenophobe, etc.
https://komonews.com/news/nation-world/sanders-breaks-with-democrats-praises-trumps-border-policy-on-podcast-donald-trump-joe-biden-vermont-bernie-2020-campaign-security-the-tim-dillon-show-social-media
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Marilee,
Robert Pondiscio never helped me write a book. I have never been on Facebook (except for about one day many years ago when I signed up, then dropped out, so I have no idea what Robert said about me on Facebook. I was friends with Robert some 20 years ago, then we diverged. I turned anti-charter, he didn’t. I opposed the “reforms” of Rhee, Klein, etc, he didn’t. He went on to work for rightwing groups that I quit. I have no idea what he wrote about me. Nor do I care.
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Why would I call Sanders names? I respect his views. I support a controlled border. I support a reasonable path to citizenship. I support treating people with dignity, no matter what their origins
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Someone who believes they are an expert on Libertarians should know that not all Libertarians support open borders. See Libertarian Proponents of Restricted Immigration: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertarian_perspectives_on_immigration#Libertarian_proponents_of_restricted_immigration
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Last year I read an essay by Diane Ravitch written 10+ years ago, I forget exactly when. I did an internet search on that name and asked a teacher friend about that author’s blog. The friend – very much a liberal – said that the blog’s commenters and Ms. Ravitch herself would hurl personal insults and ad hominem at anyone who didn’t agree with the party line: racist, xenophobic, ignorant, Trumper, fascist, etc. The friend advised me to spend my time elsewhere.
I had not seen this blog since that time, but after reading this thread I see that my friend accurately described the situation.
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Marta,
Good decision. Spend your time elsewhere.
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Of course we need secure borders. After 9/11, we learned that even the borders with Canada had to be made more secure. I have not seen anyone here supporting “open borders”.
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Thank you, ECE. This is a little hive of Trumpers. They have repeatedly accused me of supporting open borders. I do not and never have. I have never seen anyone in this space support open borders. Like Trump, they shamelessly lie.
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This issue is not about immigration anymore. It is about the Republican attempt to create the unitary presidency. Perhaps it was always about turning the constitution into pulp.
We are not going through legal means to deport illegals. Therefore, we do not know whether the people being deported are legal or not. Agents are arresting people going through legal channels, violating laws without restrictions. More unitary power. Trump’s instructions to the Republican Party to vote down immigration reform exposed the Republicans. The whole thing was a sham. They want single party rule.
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Roy,
Right. The unitary executive. AKA, the king.
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“Trump’s instructions to the Republican Party to vote down immigration reform exposed the Republicans. The whole thing was a sham.”
You are correct that the so-called immigration deal was a sham. It would have allowed 5000 illegals to enter the country every day before any limits would be enforced. No rational person outside the left-wing bubble believed that the Biden people would have actually enforced any such limits. In any case, within a week of the second Trump administration coming to power, the southern border was effectively sealed. This pro-open borders blog and its groupies oppose this border security and any and all deportations of economic opportunists, aka future Democratic voters.
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As I recall, the Senate group that forged a bipartisan agreement was led by a conservative Senator from Oklahoma, Senator Lankford. Not by Biden. Trump sank the deal.
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Ray: so you would rather rend the constitution than compromise on legislation.
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Regarding the comment from Ray Johnson, which was clearly intended to be offensive towards people on this blog: I think it’s ironic that someone would see the southern border issue as a contest between Republicans and Democrats for voters, especially when in the 2024 election, Trump garnered the highest number of votes from Hispanics ever –and that was a critical factor in his electoral win.
See 2024 election data here: https://www.as-coa.org/articles/how-latinos-voted-2024-us-presidential-election and here: https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2025/06/26/voting-patterns-in-the-2024-election/
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