Trump Won: NOW WHAT?

The 2024 Election Edition

Trump won.

It was a hard-fought campaign, with Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump battling through months of intense campaigning. The race culminated on November 5th, Election Day, as the nation watched closely, awaiting the outcome of each state’s vote count.

The Notice to All team worked through the night, tracking results until the final call came in around 2 a.m. EST, when Pennsylvania was officially called for Trump, securing his victory.

In the aftermath of Election Day, former President Obama, President Biden, Vice President Harris, and numerous other political leaders and public figures offered congratulations to Trump on his election as the 47th President of the United States. While some expressed disappointment, they all hope that the incoming administration would work to unite Americans across political divides.

At Notice to All, we stand resilient and energized, committed to continuing our mission of providing accurate, reliable information to help guide you through the complexities of U.S. immigration law during this challenging time.

In this week's newsletter, I look back at my experiences navigating immigration policies under the Trump and Biden Administrations.

TRUMP - Hard on Families

I almost quit being an immigration lawyer in May 2019.

The Trump Administration was in full swing executing its deportation agenda.

Almost every non-citizen became a deportation priority.

The qualification for a non-citizen to receive a one-way ticket out of the United States was having a prior deportation order.

A deportation order is when the government, through an immigration judge, mandates someone must leave the U.S. because they either entered without proper documentation or no longer have permission to stay.

During an enforcement check-in on this day in Orlando, Florida, I represented Claudia and Fernando, a married couple from Mexico.

The couple received a deportation order nearly three years earlier and have been granted legal stay extensions.

The order was issued because they could not convince the immigration judge they faced a credible fear of harm if they returned to Mexico.

The enforcement check-in would take an aggressive turn for Claudia and Fernando.

The ICE officer informed us their extensions were over.

They would have 30 days to leave the United States or face detention and deportation.

The news left us all stunned.

Claudia and Fernando brought their 2-year-old U.S. citizen daughter to the appointment. Yet, the officer stated plainly, “Either you return in 30 days with plane tickets to Mexico, or I will take you into custody and deport you myself.”

The couple lived in the U.S. for nearly a decade, had three U.S.-born children, and never received a speeding ticket.

Their only “crime” was seeking asylum. 

After an intense conversation where I refused to have my clients detained and deported immediately, the officer allowed Claudia and Fernando another month before leaving the country.

It was shocking to realize that even a sliver of hope required such a hard fight—to keep this family together for one more day.

BIDEN - Overwhelmed and Unsupported

There was a sharp uptick in consultation calls during the Biden Administration.

Most were legal immigrants who asked what their relatives from outside of the US should expect while seeking asylum at the border.

Common questions, like:

What should they say?

• The truth

What should they bring?

• A form of identification, like a passport or ID from their home country

How long would they be detained?

• They should be prepared to be detained for anywhere from a few hours to a few days.

Would they be allowed to enter the U.S.?

• It depends…

There was a shift in the cases I’ve handled between administrations.

I fought to keep families together in the United States during Trump’s Administration, and I was asked how to help people enter during Biden’s.

It is heavily documented that many non-citizens have cross between February 2022 and September 2022.

I’ll admit the situation was out of control.

Biden’s immigration policy promoted open borders.

The problem with the term "open border"—which I dislike because America always operates on an administration-dependent scale of open borders—is that it hides critical issues.

The largest of these issues: what would all these people do once they entered?

Despite many individuals entering, they had no realistic route to lawful permanent residency.

The Biden Administration failed to consider this properly.

Through the past few years of consultations, an increasing number of non-citizens wanted to know legal ways to enter the United States and legal ways to stay.

Immigrants desperate for legal pathways faced wait times often stretching over a decade.

How could I advise someone to “wait in line” knowing they might wait 12 years or more?

People found themselves trapped between despair and slim hope while immigration attorneys were left to guide them through impossible choices.

I couldn’t predict such a reality under an administration that promised positive change to immigration.

Election Season Comes to a Close.

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As we conclude this week’s newsletter on the complexities of immigration policy and its profound impacts, I’ll leave you with this:

Resilience is central to our fight for justice.

No matter how steep the odds, we keep moving forward—because every small act of persistence, every hopeful step—brings us closer to the change we seek.

Stay strong, stay committed, and we will continue to make a difference.