Found an error?
Report now
Tough line at the US border: even those who have lived and worked legally in the USA for years must expect to be deported.
Keystone/AP Photo/Gregory Bull (Symbolbild)
Even those who have held a green card for years must tremble: In the USA, cases of detention and deportation of people entering the country with valid papers are piling up. The whole thing is systematic and designed to intimidate.
A green card is actually the dream of all those who want to live the American dream. Anyone in possession of such a "United States Permanent Resident Card" is allowed to live and work permanently in the USA, is a legal immigrant and does not have to worry about being deported.
At least that was the case until January 20. With the start of his second term as US President, Donald Trump has dramatically tightened immigration policy. After several high-profile raids and mass deportations of illegal immigrants, even a green card no longer protects against deportation.
It can affect anyone, not just the "illegal and criminal elements" that Trump wants to deport from the country in their hundreds of thousands. Green card holders are now also being targeted by the immigration authorities.
There are increasing numbers of cases in which holders of a green card or other permanent visa are targeted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) when returning from a trip abroad.
This could be a German electrical engineer who has lived and worked in the USA for 16 years and lives with a cardiologist from New Hampshire and their eight-year-old daughter.
It could be a 64-year-old woman from the Philippines who immigrated to the USA five decades ago and works at the University of Washington.
It could be a Lebanese doctor and kidney expert from Brown University in Rhode Island on the US East Coast, who is not allowed to enter the country despite having a valid visa, but is deported immediately. This is despite the fact that a federal judge had ruled that she could not be sent back until there had been a hearing on her case.
This may be a student with Palestinian roots and a graduate of New York's elite Columbia University, who is accused of supporting the Islamist Hamas as a prominent actor in pro-Palestinian demonstrations. He has been arrested for this and is now to be deported.
Of course, measured against the number of people entering the United States, the cases that have come to light in recent weeks are still a small fraction. But they seem to be systematic and they send out a signal: Donald Trump is cracking down. If you are not a citizen, you are no longer safe in the USA.
The uncertainty is great. Brown University is warning international teaching staff and students of the incalculable risks of entering the country. They strongly advise against traveling abroad during the upcoming spring break because re-entry is no longer safe.
People who have lived and worked in the USA for years with a green card no longer have the confidence to leave the country. They don't fly to Cameroon for their father's funeral. They no longer attend conferences abroad. They no longer even wear traditional clothing from their home country. And they are seriously considering whether they want to take the risk of visiting their family in Canada for Easter without jeopardizing their livelihood in the USA.
Immigration lawyer LaToya McBean Pompy confirmed to CNN that her green card clients are afraid. This is now the biggest problem. "They never used to be afraid," she says, "but now they're just afraid."
A statement by Vice President J.D: Vance on Fox News fuels this new climate of fear: "A green card holder, even if I like that green card holder, does not have an unlimited right to be in the United States of America."
Border officials have been cracking down since the end of January. Anyone found guilty of anything is no longer allowed to enter the country, no matter how minor the offense. The German engineer had missed a hearing because the summons was not sent to his new address. The woman from the Philippines was sentenced to a fine for embezzlement in 2001.
While comparatively minor offenses used to be tolerated, the immigration authorities are now cracking down, a lawyer confirmed to "Newsweek". Hawaiian MP Tina Nakada Grandinetti sees the crackdown as a widespread attack on "our families, our friends, our whole community".
Meanwhile, the US government is stepping up the pace once again. The Trump administration wants green card holders to disclose their social media activities and provide the immigration authorities with the profile names of all social networks. The reason given for this is the security of the United States: "The United States must ensure that foreign nationals already in the United States are not hostile to the citizens, culture, government, institutions or founding principles of the United States."
Critics see this as a blatant attempt to undermine freedom of expression: as seen in the case of the Lebanese doctor accused of being close to Hezbollah and the student critical of Israel. "Who's next?" asks immigration lawyer David Leopold. "Is it a climate activist? Is it a gender rights activist? Is it a trans activist? Is it someone who is concerned about health care? Is it someone who just doesn't like Donald Trump?"
What's more, the IRS and ICE are working on a deal to share data. ICE officials will be allowed to use confidential tax data to check the names and addresses of people they suspect are in the country illegally, the Washington Post reports."
With agency material.
