With the new Trump administration cracking down on a dozen of executive orders, President Trump has begun his promise of a mass deportation order. President Trump has been in office for 57 days, and on January 23, 2025 the operation to deport immigrants began. There have been mass raids all across the country but the first known cases were here in Bakersfield, starting January 10, 2025.
These raids have sparked a lot of discussions on whether or not they are effective or just a tactic to remove people from the country. President Trump states this is for the crime and drugs being passed through our borders, but many innocent people have been affected.“I feel like it depends on the person getting deported and what they did, the reason behind their detainment,” senior Robert Gonzalez said.
Many go back and forth whether it is reasonable to detain someone without any notice at their home, job, church ,or school. It has been seen as invasive of officers to enter such areas that are vulnerable towards hispanic immigrants such as churches,parks,fields,construction areas and predominantly hispanic neighborhoods. The deportations split many families who have kids or grandkids with birthright citizenship,but even those rights are at risk of being taken by the new administration. There is a group of individuals who should be apprehended for the safety of others and this country, but many could be wrongfully accused for their appearance.
“Yes and no, people who don’t have a right to be in the country who would like to stay homeless, sex traffickers,drug traffickers don’t belong to stay ,but people who want to work and do better for themselves should stay,”says junior Jose Pesina.
There are a lot of jobs that only immigrants contribute to, which is why many people call them essential workers. Just as the first immigrants from Europe came to the U.S., immigrants from around the world come in hopes of a better future, the American dream. Those who do come in hopes of tearing the country apart or ruining the lives and opportunities of others should be taken back to their homeland.
“It makes me sad because I myself immigrated from El Salvador when I was three because my parents wanted a better life for me and my sister, and other families probably want that for their kids too and now they can’t have that” says sophomore Brian Donan.
Many people come with only pure intentions to migrate to have better opportunities for themselves and their families, to even better the situations of their family back in their home countries. There are multiple detention centers but a building that was first used by former President George W. Bush for terrorist investigations in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba has been recently opened again to detain immigrants. It is known for its mistreatment and high security, as of January 6, 2025 15 detainees remain there.“That was immoral for the administration to record someone in such a dehumanizing way,” says Donan.
The White House had recently uploaded a controversial ASMR video of the officers making the chains, planes and peoples conversations enhancing the audio to somehow entertain an audience. This incident has angered many as it is invasive to record someone at such a vulnerable time, especially if the person was wrongfully taken. It has been reported a little over 5,000 migrants have been deported with the majority from Mexico.
