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Project 2025 Impact on Immigration

The United States of America is a nation built by immigrants. The Native Americans are the only original inhabitants. The founding fathers envisioned a land where individuals could live freely, free from the tyranny of oppression, and they welcomed all who sought refuge here. For centuries, people have journeyed to this land to escape war, famine, religious persecution, and extreme poverty.

Here’s a brief overview of the history of immigration in the United States:

1700s

Pre-1776, during the colonial period, some European leaders migrated here, recognizing the potential for wealth and power, while missionaries sought to convert Native Americans to Christianity.

The Naturalization Act of 1790 tried to restrict entry by requiring people to apply for citizenship and wait one year before coming over. Once here, they could apply for citizenship only if they were white and of good character.

1800s

In 1882, the Chinese Exclusion Act halted the mass infiltration of Chinese immigrants.

1891 saw the creation of the Office of Immigration, and the Immigration Act of 1891 further barred immigrants, restricting the sick, polygamists, and criminals.

1900s

The Gentleman’s Agreement of 1907 barred Japanese business people and professionals from citizenship but allowed blue-collar workers.

After World War I, new laws required immigrants to be literate.

The U.S. Border Patrol was established in 1924.

The labor shortage post-WWII allowed Mexican agricultural workers into the country.

In 1965, the quota system ended with the Nationality Act.

In 1986, President Reagan pardoned over 3 million legal immigrants.

2000s

In 2001, President Obama signed the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which suspended the deportation of immigrants with children.

In 2012, President Trump issued executive orders to restrict the immigration of people from select Muslim countries, believing this would protect the U.S. from terrorists.

Project 2025 seeks the following immigration policy changes:

• Allow ICE deportation officers to arrest and detain immigration violators without a warrant, which would lead to an increase in racial profiling and discrimination of Latinos and other people of color.  [135] [141] [142]
• Remove prohibitions on ICE, allowing them to raid schools, hospitals, and religious institutions. [142]
• Repeal Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designations, stripping over 700,000 people of their legal protections and work authorization. [150]
• Cut federal student loan programs, stripping undocumented immigrants of the right to take out federal loans entirely. It would also deny loan access to students at schools that provide in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants. That means students in 25 states (including Oklahoma) and Washington, D.C., cannot access student loans. [167] and Higher Ed Immigration Portal
• Authorize the military for domestic law enforcement purposes to protect the borders (which is against the law) and would escalate tensions with Mexico.  [167] [555]
• End the Flores Settlement Agreement, which would remove protection for immigrant children and detain them indefinitely, possibly separated from their families. [148]
• Reduce immigration staff, resulting in large backlog numbers and triggering an automatic suspension and/or termination of immigration renewals and applications. This would immediately affect 500,000 Dreamers and 176,000 Ukrainians. [145] [146]

Project 2025’s significant and detrimental impact on immigration undermines the vision of America’s founding fathers. Unless you are Native American, your family is part of this immigrant legacy. What motivated your ancestors to cross the ocean or the border? We must continue to uphold the American dream of freedom and opportunity and vote Democrat, so this abhorrent mandate does not become our reality. As the Broadway musical Hamilton famously declares, “Immigrants, we get the job done!”