Hope and Resistance in the Face of Trump's Reelection

Guest post by Bill De La Rosa. Bill is a DPhil Candidate at the Centre for Criminology, University of Oxford, and a JD Candidate at the Yale Law School. His scholarship is concerned with the convergence of criminal law and immigration law, punishment, and critical theory.  

Two weeks have passed since the world awoke to the news of Donald Trump’s reelection as President of the United States. For immigrant advocates like myself, his return signals a bleak and uncertain future, especially for asylum seekers and undocumented people in the United States. Trump has already appointed Stephen Miller as Deputy Chief of Staff and Thomas Homan, the former Director of ICE, as his border czar—two of the chief architects of the family separation policy that defined Trump’s first term. There is no sugarcoating what lies ahead: a tidal wave of pain for mixed-status families and undocumented immigrants.  

I will not pretend otherwise. But while it is important to recognize the fear, worry, and uncertainty many of us feel, it is equally important to remember: this is a time to fight. Although the immigrant rights movement will face setbacks, we have agency to leverage our knowledge and resources to help reduce the damage to immigrant-related causes and to immigrant families.  

The day after the election, I found myself at an immigrant detention center in New England, conducting intakes for my law school clinic. On the drive there, I was numb, still reeling from the election results. But once inside, as I spoke with person after person, that numbness gave way to resolve. The people detained there while fighting their deportation do not have the luxury of dwelling on the election’s aftermath. For them, it does not matter whether Obama, Trump, or Biden sits in the Oval Office; their backs remain against the wall.  

Speaking with them reminded me of the folks I met while conducting research and providing humanitarian aid in a migrant shelter in Mexico. They had endured harrowing journeys from Central America and through Mexico and had countless opportunities to turn back. But they did not. At great personal cost and with no guarantee of success, they kept moving forward, holding fast to the belief that their lives would become better despite the herculean challenges ahead.  

We must learn from those we seek to advocate on behalf of. Their resilience and determination should inspire our own. We must keep going. We must continue our work and resist with every ounce of strength we have. Giving up is not an option. The incoming administration wants us to believe that all hope is lost, that resistance is futile. We must prove them wrong.   

I find hope in the legal organizations poised to challenge unconstitutional actions, resist mass deportations, and fight to keep families together. I find hope in the thousands of frontline workers who provide humanitarian aid and services daily, no matter who holds power. And I find hope in my law professors and fellow students who remain committed to documenting, seeking truth, and speaking out.  

Border Criminologies is in the fight. We are ready.