Washington, DC, July 23, 2025 – A special report released today provides a drastic analysis of the Trump administration’s first six months of office, revealing an unprecedented transformation of the US immigration system as it stricken by the foundations of American democracy. While some voters may support a “tighter” approach to immigration when voting for Trump, the report explains how the administration’s extreme actions far exceed policy change. They are corrupted by the rule of law itself.
The report, entitled “Mass Deportation: Analyzing the Trump Administration’s attacks on immigration, democracy and the United States, was published by the U.S. Immigration Council on July 23rd and shows how to carry out radical, multi-faceted attacks on immigration and the immigration system.
Read the report here.
These actions include reinforcing enforcement to a historic level, where we can strip people already here of legal protections. And in the process, the Trump administration dismantled years of legal protections, ignored the powers of Congress and courts, and weaponised the government’s power over immigrants and opponents.
“This is not just a hard-line immigration agenda,” said Naina Gupta, policy director for the American Council of Immigration and co-author of the report. “Using immigration and the US immigration system to attack the core doctrines of democracy, use unidentified enforcement powers, and reorganize the US government in exclusion and fear is a wholesale effort.”
The key findings from the report are as follows:
The end of exile. Asylum at the southern border is virtually dead. The administration shut down one CBP application and did not replace it with another. Asylum seekers approaching the port of entry are turned away and, in some cases, are detained indefinitely even after the asylum seekers have acquired a case. Destruction of refugee programs. The administration has suspended enrollment programs for US refugees indefinitely under white South Africans and suspicious persecution claims that were quickly tracked by executive orders. Tens of thousands of approved refugees remain stuck abroad. Massive revocation of legal status: The administration has aggressively revoked humanitarian parole and temporary protection status (TPS) from over a million people in just six months, stripped of work permits, and pushed many to undocumented status. Weaponization bureaucracy: To make it nearly impossible for even legal applicants to maintain or maintain status, legal immigration routes are hampered by massive fee increases, processing freezes and opaque barriers. Fear and Confusion: The Trump administration’s aggressive enforcement tactics have made immigrants of all legal positions constantly worry about their daily and future security in the United States. Anyone can target arrest, detention, deportation, and people can be targeted anywhere, including churches, schools and courts. A radical restructuring of law enforcement: The Trump administration is creating unprecedented ministries immigration businesses that leverage talent in several federal and state law enforcement agencies and the US military. Turbocharged inhumane detention systems. Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill Act, enacted in July, will increase ICE’s detention budget by 308% per year. This sets the government to fundamentally expand the detention system where careless and cruel management already has tens of thousands of migrants on life-threatening conditions.
The report includes strong direct accounts.
Ilia is a non-binary Russian dissident who won an asylum lawsuit in court, but still has been detained for over a year without a release date. A DACA recipient and youth leader, Axel has abandoned his work to return to school amid uncertainty about his legal status. Beatrice, an immigration lawyer fighting for non-citizen children, has seen cases that remind her of her own journey, including a confused six-year-old who appeared in court without expressing anything. Kaelyn is holding back debt to prevent partners from being deported to El Salvador’s MegaPrison under alien enemy law.
The report warns that while some policies may change based on court legal agendas, the administration’s broader agenda is clear.
“The administration’s policies are restructuring the immigration system in ways that are unfair and illegal and take a step forward with America’s core values,” said Dara Lind, senior council fellow and co-author of the report. “We have real harm to our families, our communities, and the rule of law, and our people deserve to understand what is at stake.”
The full report is available here. Interviews with experts and affected individuals are also available.
