We don't know yet what Donald Trump's plans for mass deportations might look like. He's vowed it will happen, but his "advisers," as they are so called, have remained squirrelly as to just how such a thing might be accomplished without a militarized deportation force, vast new "deportation" camps, or any of the other repulsive little details that would be required in order to keep his promise.
American leaders that oppose such schemes aren't waiting for him to explain. They're moving ahead with their own plans to resist.
Los Angeles city and county leaders on Monday unveiled a $10-million fund to provide legal assistance for residents facing deportation, the region’s boldest move yet as it prepares for an expected crackdown on illegal immigration by Donald Trump. [...]
Los Angeles City Atty. Mike Feuer said the fund will ensure that there is “more fairness and more effectiveness in the immigration system.” He cited statistics showing that immigrants who have representation have a better chance at succeeding in court.
Similar efforts are underway in other cities and in other states. Local governments have little input into federal deportation efforts, but providing legal help to non-citizens who would not otherwise is one minimal way of ensuring they are not railroaded into deportation.
The move come as immigration groups are demanding that Los Angeles political leaders take a harder line against the incoming Republican president. More than 1 million of the estimated 11 million immigrants in the country without legal status live in Los Angeles County, and local groups argue Los Angeles needs to be prepared for the threat of deportations.
Detaining and removing one million people from Los Angeles County is, short of military action, impossible. It would be an economic catastrophe. It is almost certainly not going to be done no matter what Donald Trump bleats out, because even Donald Trump's own advisers know they cannot Jade Helm their way through major American cities person-by-person. And local law enforcement cannot help—immigrants are already targets for criminals and unscrupulous employers as it stands, and local law enforcement has learned it cannot add on a threat of deportation if they want victims to cooperate in catching those that prey upon them.
Trump's team may not understand that, but most of the people more versed in these issues understand it quite well. And they're not going to just roll over for Trump's team of zealots and petty twits.