Latino Civil Rights vs.Project 2025

 The Battle Ahead: Latino Civil Rights vs. Project 2025

Prepared by Adriana Varea, Ari Kittrie, and Joaquin Macias, LULAC Policy and Legislation Fellows

Introduction

The 2025 Mandate for Leadership, The Conservative Promise, more publicly recognized as “Project 2025” is a roadmap for the first 180 days in office for a conservative presidency. It was drafted by The Heritage Foundation, which is a right-leaning, conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C. charged with crafting policies that align with the Republican party. The Heritage Foundation gave the first Mandate for Leadership to Reagan to “repair the executive branch” after Jimmy Carter’s presidency.

Former President Trump has recently distanced himself from Project 2025 by tweeting:

“I know nothing about Project 2025. I have no idea who is behind it. I disagree with some of the things they’re saying and some of the things they’re saying are absolutely ridiculous and abysmal. Anything they do, I wish them luck, but I have nothing to do with them.” (@realDonaldTrump)

However, this was refuted by a 2022 statement from former President Trump:

“[The Heritage Foundation] is a great group, and they’re going to lay the groundwork and detail plans for exactly what our movement will do and what your movement will do when the American people give us a colossal mandate to save America.” (Bennen, 2024)

Additionally, several authors, editors, and contributors of Project 2025 have previously worked for the Trump administration. Roughly 64% of policy recommendations from the 2016 Mandate for Leadership were either implemented or taken into consideration by the Trump Administration in 2017 (The Heritage Foundation).

In this article, we will outline ten specific ways in which Project 2025 disproportionately negatively impacts Latino civil rights.

1. Establish a Unitary Executive Branch

2. Mass Deportations

“Prioritizing border security and immigration enforcement, including detention and deportation, is critical if we are to regain control of the border.” (Project 2025, pg. 135)

Project 2025 plans to repeal parts of the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 to allow for the large-scale use of detention facilities to mass incarcerate migrants. It also will change Title 8 of U.S. Code § 1226 to require mandatory detention for unauthorized migrants caught within the U.S. interior (pg. 150). To compound this, Project 2025 will also increase Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) capabilities by removing all sensitive zones where ICE personnel are prohibited from operating, allowing for raids in schools, churches, and businesses (pg. 142).

Project 2025 calls to authorize state and local law enforcement to participate in immigration and border security actions (pg. 150). Through deputizing local law enforcement, there will be a lack of oversight and accountability, allowing for abuses of the system that would disproportionately hurt the Latino community. Additionally, Latinos would have a more difficult time receiving impartial hearings and legal representation, especially because detainees are not entitled to public defenders as criminal defendants are. To compound upon this, the Supreme Court Case Loper Bright Entreprises vs. Raimondo, which repealed the Chevron Deference, has the potential to take immigration hearings away from the United States Immigration and Citizenship Services and shift them to the local courts. These local courts notoriously have long backlogs and a limited understanding of immigration policies and laws, which would force Latinos to have long and unjust trials.

3. Cutting Off Legal Immigration

“Victimization should not be a basis for an immigration benefit.” (pg. 144) “If CISOMB continues as a DHS component, a policy should be issued that prohibits CISOMB from assisting illegal aliens to obtain benefits. Currently, approximately 15 percent–20 percent of CISOMB’s workload consists of helping DACA applicants obtain and renew benefits, including work authorization. This is not the role of an ombudsman.” (Project 2025, pg. 166)

Project 2025 proposes to cut down on legal immigration by limiting interim immigration into the United States. For example, it calls for an increase in visa application fees. It plans to limit the issuance of H-2A and H2-B visas for seasonal agricultural workers, as well as the complete elimination of T and U visas meant to protect trafficking or crime victims who are actively cooperating with law enforcement as a witness (pg. 612, 141). Project 2025 calls to remove and deport all Temporary Status designations for migrants whose home countries are considered unsafe to live in (pg. 145). Finally, Project 2025 will phase out DACA for the over 500,000 recipients by eliminating staff time for reviewing and processing renewal applications which will make it very hard for DACA recipients to renew their status given the proposed lack of staff present to do so (pg.145).

 

And More 

 

Project 2025 

https://lulac.org/project_2025/

 

and on our Electoral Fight Back site. 

 

 Our building a united front is here;
 North Star: Defeat MAGA/Fight for Democracy Action Opportunities
List of opportunities:  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cRIJsSJwtF72ckJ8QLQu5cDCGnoeh5OIIjwqRkDKdBg/edit?usp=sharing

Latino Book Festival

 SACRAMENTO, Calif. —

The second annual Sacramento Latino Book and Family Festival will take place this weekend at Sacramento City College.

The event celebrates literacy and this year features 60 authors, along with actor and activist Edward James Olmos. There will also be Aztec dancers and more entertainment. 

Rene Aguilera, the festival’s organizer and award-winning author Reyna Grande joined KCRA 3 on Wednesday to talk about the event. 

Grande, who is from Woodland, is the author of books including “The Distance Between Us” and “A Dream Called Home.” 

Aguilera said she was honored to represent the community at the event and encouraged people to read “and celebrate our stories.” 

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Integration: Not Deportation. the Cost to California

 Guest column: The real question is integration of undocumented immigrants, not deportation

Jamshid Damooei   https://www.vcstar.com/story/opinion/2024/09/21/guest-column-the-real-question-is-integration-of-undocumented-immigrants/75282530007/

We should applaud the Biden Administration for taking a significant step toward helping long-term undocumented immigrants married to U.S. citizens and 50,000 undocumented stepchildren of citizens become permanent legal residents. This brings hope to many undocumented immigrants and their families.

However, many Californians — and Americans as a whole — are leery. They blame undocumented immigrants for all the economic and social problems they face, ranging from unemployment to low wages and a surge in crimes. What they might not know is how their lives and economic well-being are intertwined with the lives of undocumented immigrants. California is a shining example of this.

Every Californian shares the benefits of undocumented immigrants’ contributions and is responsible for their well-being. Unfortunately, there’s a common belief that undocumented immigrants have taken advantage of unsecured borders and do not belong in this country.

Reality cannot be further away from such a perception.

According to the Immigration Policy Institute, in 2019 there were more than 2.7 million undocumented immigrants in California. Of these immigrants, about 72% have lived here over 10 years. This begs the question: How long does it take to call a place home?

Some 28.3% of Latino residents of California live with people who are labeled “undocumented.” For Asian residents, it’s 12.8%. Nearly 14% of California residents are connected with the lives of undocumented immigrants in the state. According to the latest information from the California Immigration Data Portal of the Equity Research Center of the University of Southern California, in 2021, 28% of all Latino children under 18 years old lived with undocumented parents. The percentage for all children in California was 17. This makes clear that what we are doing to undocumented immigrants, we are doing to our children and the future of our state and the nation.

Undocumented immigrants’ contribution to the labor force and working population is remarkable, yet seldom discussed in policy debates. In 2021, 41% of all agriculture workers were undocumented; this only formed 14.5% of all working undocumented immigrants in California. It defies the common perception that all undocumented immigrants are either in agriculture or household services.

Focusing on Los Angeles County, which has approximately a quarter of the state’s population, 28.7% of construction workers were undocumented immigrants, 17.5% manufacturing, 16% whole trade and 15.4% retail trade.

Imagine California’s economy, the fifth largest in the world, if all the undocumented immigrants were deported. Think about the significant proportion of our children whose parents and relatives were deported. This impact would cripple California.

People who are against immigration may not realize that their work and economic well-being heavily depend on the work of undocumented immigrants.

This segment of our population generates around $152 billion in value added within the state economy, or 4.9% of the state’s gross domestic product (GDP). according to a February 2024 study by the Center for Economics of Social Issues (CESI) at California Lutheran University. Adding the indirect impact (supply chain business-to-business value added) and induced (value added stemming from household spending of labor income) the total value added reaches $298.5 billion or 9.6% of total GDP in 2019.

Think about that.

Through the work of undocumented immigrants, 1.25 million additional jobs were created within the state. This same study shows that California’s undocumented immigrants, paid, in total, some $22 billion toward various tax channels. Setting aside the contribution by employers toward Social Security, approximately $17.5 billion is paid by the undocumented immigrants themselves. Let us not forget that employers’ contributions are based on the employees’ work.

Of this amount, about $9.3 billion has been paid as Social Security by them and their employers — which they will never see a dime of because of their immigration status. In addition to Social Security, undocumented immigrants pay many of the same taxes but are not eligible for many benefits — including refundable tax credits, Pell grants, student loans and nutrition programs. This is happening across the United States, where they are, in essence, financially supporting the nation’s citizens.

Unfortunately, many Americans overlook these realities. A path to citizenship will increase productivity and wages — not just for those eligible for legalization, but for all workers — and create hundreds of thousands of jobs and increase tax revenue. This pathway would boost the U.S. GDP by a cumulative total of $1.7 trillion (with a T) over 10 years and create 438,800 new jobs, according to a 2021 study by the Center for American Progress, in collaboration with the University of California and Davis’s Global Migration Center.

Let us look forward to a day when undocumented immigrants have a clear path to becoming permanent legal residents, not only for their sake but also for the state’s and country’s economy.

 

Jamshid Damooei, Ph.D., is the executive director of the Center for Economics of Social Issues and director of the undergraduate economics program at California Lutheran University.

 

Anti-Immigrant Campaigns in California

 The Immigration fight in this election is real. We should not assume all will be well.

 

In “liberal” California in 1994. Then Governor Pete Wilson ( Republican)was far behind in his election campaign.

A proposed ballot initiative Save Our State was placed on the ballot by anti immigrant forces. It had numerous anti- immigrant clauses, mass deportations, mass arrests, etc. It included provisions to deny immigrant children access to public schools ( they cost money). It would have required teachers to turn in students that they thought were undocumented. 

Anti-immigrant and Anti Mexican reached a level not seen since Operation Wetback in 1953-1954. Voters in California passed the Prop. 187 by a margin of 62 % to 38%. Governor Wilson focused his re-election campaign on Prop. 187 and won re-election easily. 

Subsequent.

All but one of Pro.187 provisions were blocked from enforcement by federal courts based upon the U.S. constitution.

In later years, the political mobilization in the Latino community in response to Prop.187 led to a turn around in California politics and the election of numerous Latino leaders. 

DSA in California worked night and day to defeat Prop.187, and we lost. 

 

The current  focus of the Trump campaign on immigration is using similar scapegoating, false narratives, altered images, and this week the scandal in Springfield, Ohio.

Please be aware. There is an available, hidden anti-immigrant vote in many states. Arizona, Texas and Florida have passed and are enforcing harsh bills.

The action in Texas at the border, a state with a large Mexican-American population, illustrates how these campaigns can be used to promote proto fascists governments. 

 

Capital and Main is a Los Angeles based news outlet with strong union ties.

As Election Nears, Republicans Pour Millions Into Anti-Immigrant Ad Campaign

Candidates and their supporters have spent $117 million to portray the situation at the border as an invasion.

 

https://capitalandmain.com/as-election-nears-republicans-pour-millions-into-anti-immigrant-ad-campaign

 

It would be foolish to ignore the potential of these campaigns. 

 

Duane Campbell

Sacramento.

Former member of the DSA Immigrants Rights Working Group. 

 

See, “The Blue-ing” of California.  Harold Meyerson. New Labor Forum.   CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies. Jan. 2020. 

Republicans Pour Millions into Anti Immigration Election Efforts

   

As Election Nears, Republicans Pour Millions Into Anti-Immigrant Ad Campaign

Candidates and their supporters have spent $117 million to portray the situation at the border as an invasion.

 

https://capitalandmain.com/as-election-nears-republicans-pour-millions-into-anti-immigrant-ad-campaign

 

DSA Statement on the Anti Immigrant Campaign in Springfield , Ohio and response

 Statement of Democratic Socialists of America ( NPC)

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Solidarity with Springfield’s Haitian Community: DSA’s Statement on Anti-Immigrant Violence

September 17, 2024

DSA condemns in the strongest possible terms the hateful lies promoted by Donald Trump, J.D. Vance, and other Republican officials targeting Haitian immigrant communities in Springfield, Ohio. These lies have led to ongoing school and hospital closures over bomb threats, smashed windows, acid thrown on cars, death threats, and the canceling of beloved local cultural events due to safety concerns. The goal is clear: Trump’s lies intend to incite violence and harassment against working-class immigrant communities, not just in Springfield, but toward Black people living all over the country. In the lead up to their second term, he’s touting plans to launch mass deportations targeting millions. The far-right wants to divide and conquer the working class by using xenophobia and racism to pit workers against one another in a race to the bottom. 

 

Democrats, including presidential candidate Kamala Harris, have enabled this rhetoric by remaining silent about the attacks on Springfield, while also affirming her plans to expand border policing. This is nothing less than appeasement to growing fascist anti-immigrant rhetoric.

 

The Presidential debate last Tuesday made clear that Trump’s hateful Project 2025 agenda would be catastrophic for the working class, both at home and abroad. Opposing the far right, as represented by the Republican Party under Trump’s neo-fascist leadership, is a necessity for the working class and for our movement.

 

The truth is that working people everywhere have a common humanity and shared struggle against the exploitative capitalist economic system, which is the real root cause of the increasing precarity and insecurity in our society. DSA is fighting for a world where all people live together in peace, regardless of race, ethnicity, or national origin. Immigrants are welcome here. People everywhere are hurting, struggling to pay bills, buy groceries, and live beyond paycheck to paycheck. But this is not because of the immigrants who are living in this country: our suffering is due to the insatiable greed of the billionaire class.

We will stand against anti-immigrant hate anywhere and everywhere it appears, and we continue to fight against the greed of billionaires like Donald Trump and the lies they tell to keep us from achieving working class solidarity.

----------          --------------            -----------

 

National DSA has made the statement above.  Most of the statement is a good statement of the situation and policy. https://www.dsausa.org/statements/solidarity-with-springfields-haitian-community/

 

 

The following part of the statement is in error. 

 

Democrats, including presidential candidate Kamala Harris, have enabled this rhetoric by remaining silent about the attacks on Springfield, while also affirming her plans to expand border policing. This is nothing less than appeasement to growing fascist anti-immigrant rhetoric.

 

See here for the errors. 

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/17/us/politics/harris-trump-haitian-migrants-pets.html

 

This  unfortunate view is also in error.

This is nothing less than appeasement to growing fascist anti-immigrant rhetoric.

 

On our blog.

https://www.dsanorthstar.org/blog/re-dsa-statement-on-anti-immigrant-violence

 

 

Here are ways you can join with other North Star members in building this electoral effort. 

** North Star: Defeat MAGA/Fight for Democracy Action Opportunities
opportunities:  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cRIJsSJwtF72ckJ8QLQu5cDCGnoeh5OIIjwqRkDKdBg/edit?usp=sharing

 

 

 

 

We propose that DSA members and others participate in the effort to defeat the growing anti fascist movement as advanced by the Republican – MAGA movement and the  2024 effort to elect Donald Trump as President .

 

Here are ways you can join with other North Star members in building this electoral effort. 

** North Star: Defeat MAGA/Fight for Democracy Action Opportunities
opportunities:  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cRIJsSJwtF72ckJ8QLQu5cDCGnoeh5OIIjwqRkDKdBg/edit?usp=sharing

 

 

On our blog.

https://www.dsanorthstar.org/blog/re-dsa-statement-on-anti-immigrant-violence

 

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LULAC Responds to Donald Trump's Xenophobic Comments

 

LULAC Response to Presidential Debate on September 10

Washington, D.C. — Last night’s debate highlighted the need for both candidates to focus on the issues that matter most to Americans, not on falsehoods, distractions, and hysteria.

The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) strongly condemns the xenophobic and inflammatory comments made by former President Donald Trump during last night's debate. His rhetoric on immigration not only misrepresents the facts but also promotes fear and division, unfairly targeting immigrant communities, particularly Latinos.

We are encouraged by Vice President Harris’s commitment to delivering bipartisan immigration reform in Congress, which would uphold our nation’s dedication to addressing the humanitarian crisis at our southern border, tackle the root causes of displacement abroad, and strengthen our homeland security. We urge Vice President Harris to maintain her commitment to the critical goal of creating a more fair and humanitarian immigration system.

LULAC remains committed to advocating for the rights of all Latinos and immigrants, and we will continue to stand against divisive rhetoric that seeks to undermine the progress we have made. We urge the American public to reject hate and instead focus on the positive role that Latinos and immigrants play in building a stronger and more united nation.

Donald Trump’s Xenophobic Comments on Immigration

Trump’s claims about immigrants "pouring into our country" from prisons and mental institutions, as well as his baseless accusations of widespread "migrant crime"¹, are not only false but dangerous. These comments are rooted in fearmongering and are designed to vilify immigrants as threats to American society. Such rhetoric only serves to harm the Latino community, a vital part of the fabric of the United States.

Let’s be clear: Donald Trump’s hateful rhetoric is not just inflammatory—it’s dangerous. It incites division and violence, and it ignores the tremendous contributions that immigrants, particularly Latinos, make to this country every day.

One of the most egregious examples is Trump’s false and outrageous claim that immigrants are “eating pets” in American towns. This statement has no foundation in truth. Not only is it completely baseless, but it also serves as a reprehensible attempt to dehumanize immigrants by spreading ridiculous and harmful lies. Fact-checkers have already debunked this claim, and it is nothing more than an insult to the hard-working immigrant communities who contribute so much to this country².

Contributions of Latinos to the U.S. Economy

For decades, Latinos have contributed immensely to this nation’s economy and culture. Immigrants and their descendants have played an indispensable role in industries ranging from agriculture and construction to healthcare and technology. Today, Latinos are the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. workforce, and their entrepreneurial spirit is driving economic growth across the country. In 2022 alone, Latino-owned businesses contributed over $800 billion to the U.S. economy³.

Latinos continue to make substantial contributions in sectors such as construction, real estate, and technology. Latinos account for over 18% of the U.S. population and 25% of all new small business startups⁴.

The Latino contribution to the U.S. GDP is also rapidly growing, reaching over $3.7 trillion by 2023⁵ . These contributions highlight the importance of policies that support, rather than vilify, immigrant communities.

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1 FBI Releases 2024 Quarterly Crime Report and Use-of-Force Data Update
2 Springfield police say no reports of pets stolen, eaten, after viral social media post
3 The Unstoppable Growth Rate Of Latino-Owned Businesses In America
4 Latinos Are Starting U.S. Businesses at a Torrid Pace
5 U.S. Latino GDP skyrockets to record $3.7 trillion, with growth rate outpacing China, India

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About League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)
The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) is the largest and oldest Hispanic civil rights organization in the United States. Since its founding in 1929, LULAC has worked to advance the economic condition, educational attainment, political influence, housing, health, and civil rights of Latino Americans through community-based programs and advocacy. For more information, visit www.LULAC.org.

 

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