The race for sheriff continues
ENGLISH
Election day is just around the corner, and a great deal of attention has been focused on Tulsa’s mayoral race. But there is another local election with the potential to greatly impact area residents – the contest for Tulsa County Sheriff.
ENGLISH
Day in and day out, I get a constant question from my clients. What is going to happen to me when Trump gets elected president? While Mr. Trump still hasn’t been chosen as the Republican nominee, the primary season has made the idea of a Trump presidency more of a possibility.
Mr. Trump has made illegal immigration a pillar of his campaign, and it is important to learn what powers a “President Trump” could have on the U.S. immigration system.
While a multitude of arguments can be given regarding Mr. Trump’s specific positions and goals for immigration reform, the primary concern I get from individuals in the United States without lawful status is whether “President Trump” will be able to deport them immediately.
As the head of the executive branch of the U.S. government, the President certainly has a firm ability to shape the immigration system, but the President’s power is put into check by the legislative and judicial branches.
The legislative branch—Congress—is responsible for making immigration laws. Immigration laws guide the immigration courts and officers. Additionally, immigration laws and statutes passed by Congress regulate the abilities and duties of ICE— Immigration, Customs, and Enforcement.
The President does have the power, however, to decide what aliens are apprehended and placed in removal/deportation proceedings. Immigration laws passed by Congress allow for relief for eligible individuals to stay in the United States. While Mr. Trump may certainly put more people in removal proceedings, an individual will be given an opportunity to appear before an immigration judge and apply for relief— individuals will not simply be rounded up and taken out of the United States without a form of due process.
President Obama has put into place several executive orders aimed at providing some sort of relief to individuals without lawful status. These orders, for example, have ranged from defining the type of individuals that are prioritized and placed in removal proceedings, DACA, and the freshly-Supreme-Court-debated DAPA. These executive orders are guidelines for ICE to determine what individuals should be placed in removal proceedings. However, these orders are not immigration laws or were passed by Congress. A President Trump would have the full ability to rescind these executive orders and determine what individuals should be placed in removal proceedings. But, as stated previously, these individuals would be granted an opportunity to appeal their case before an immigration judge and ask to stay in the United States.
Because of the influences of Congress and the judicial branch, a Trump presidency certainly does not immediately change the current state of the immigration system. However, it will certainly affect it.