DETROIT (Michigan News Source) – As President-elect Donald Trump prepares to assume office, Michigan’s immigrant communities are expressing growing concern over his campaign promises to implement the “largest deportation operation in American history.”

Trump’s current plans include going after criminal undocumented immigrants first and also those with deportation orders who are still in the country. Tom Homan, Donald Trump’s “border czar,” tasked with overseeing his sweeping deportation agenda says that the Trump administration will prioritize deporting those with a criminal past, saying, “It’s going to be public safety threats and national security threats (that) will be the priority.” He described the plan to Fox News saying, “It’s not going to be a massive sweep of neighborhoods. It’s not going to be massive raids. It’s going to be a targeted enforcement operation.”

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Those who will be targeted first account for a staggering 662,566 non-citizens with criminal convictions or pending charges, primarily for assault and drug-related offenses.

Additionally, according to numbers from ICE, there are about 1.3 million non-citizens with final orders to depart but still remain in the country.

Americans, however, are unified in supporting the deportations. A recent Rasmussen poll shows that a whopping 64% of Americans approve of Trump’s plan for mass deportations.

There are an estimated 130,000 undocumented immigrants residing in the state of Michigan, according to Pew Research Center data from 2022.

Legal preparations and community support.

In response to the looming uncertainty, legal experts and advocacy groups are mobilizing to support non-citizens. The Michigan Immigrant Rights Center is actively providing resources and guidance to help individuals understand their rights and prepare for potential enforcement actions.

Community organizations are also hosting informational sessions and workshops to educate immigrants about legal protections and the importance of having contingency plans in place.

Local government responses and the future ahead.

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Some Michigan cities have already taken steps to protect their immigrant populations. Detroit and Ann Arbor, for instance, have anti-profiling ordinances that generally prohibit local police from inquiring about an individual’s immigration status unless they are suspected of a crime.