Immigration Reform News 2017: Trump's immigration detention plan might increase human rights violation, activists claim
Immigrant rights activists are already fearing the rampant human rights violation days before President-elect Donald Trump sits in the Oval Office.
Reuters revealed that Trump's transition team requested from the Department of Homeland Security last month to look into all their assets available for the construction of barrier and border wall.
Trump's team also reportedly asked the department if they can expand immigrant detention and reconsider the aerial surveillance program that was earlier rejected by outgoing president Barack Obama's administration. These moves could give the public a glimpse of Trump's strategy for securing the U.S. borders to prevent illegal immigrants from flocking to the country.
While the incoming U.S. president's team refuse to answer questions about their plans for immigration reform for 2017, the report claimed that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection employees were able to identify over 400 miles stretching along the US–Mexico border. The US–Canada border, where the new immigration fence could be constructed, also has the same measurement. This raised a concern for human rights protectors.
"There is simply no way for such a rapid immigrant detention expansion to happen, it's a human rights crisis waiting to happen," ACLU's National Prison Project staff attorney Carl Takei told International Business Times in an interview. "Unless President Obama reverses course in the coming weeks, he is laying the groundwork for a massive increase in detention," he added.
But while Trump's administration plans to limit immigrants on U.S. soil, a report from CNBC claimed that the country is almost running out of qualified workers. This means that the United States will benefit from having more immigrants these days.
"We actually need more immigration," JPMorgan Funds chief global strategist David Kelly told the publication. "We need these workers. We're almost out of well-qualified native-born workers," he continued.
This observation will contradict Trump's plans to restrict the entry of immigrants in the country and require businesses to hire more workers raised and born in the United States.
Trump is expected to launch his reformed immigration policies after his oath-taking on Friday, Jan. 20.