Trump pursues 'very Draconian measures, amplifying the authority of the presidency over immigration'

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00:00Well, we can speak now to co-director of the USC Gould School of Law Immigration Clinic,

00:06Miss Jean Rees.

00:07Thanks for being with us and giving us your time.

00:10Looking there, just at one example of Florida, where laws are becoming much, much tougher

00:13when it comes to migrants there.

00:16Is this something we're seeing reproduced elsewhere in the US?

00:18Can you give us an idea of what exactly the Trump administration, what impact have they

00:22had on migrants in the US at this stage?

00:26Well, the Trump administration has really polarized the debate about immigration with

00:32states who are clamping down on immigration laws and anti-sanctuary laws and other states

00:39trying to beef up their protections for immigrants within.

00:43The president has kind of expanded his authority and many, there's a lot of litigation regarding

00:50his violation of immigration laws and constitutional protections for immigrants within the US.

00:56Is it up to each state, does each state, if you like, have control?

01:00I mean, these sanctuary states, will they ultimately be able to provide that or does

01:05Trump have the final say?

01:08Trump has the final say.

01:10Sanctuary is a bit of a misnomer.

01:12No state can actually prevent the federal government from entering its state, arresting

01:18and deporting immigrants who are in violation of immigration law.

01:22All that states can really do is make it harder for the Trump administration to do that by

01:29not voluntarily cooperating with this enforcement efforts as, you know, contrary to that is

01:35Florida, which is beefing up its voluntary cooperation.

01:40I am hearing that some legal support representation, for example, for children that enter the US

01:47alone, that the Trump administration has pulled that so children now are being brought

01:51to court, what, with no lawyer by their side?

01:54Yes.

01:55Under American law, people who can't afford attorneys in immigration court, including

02:01children, have to represent themselves.

02:03And we have received stop work orders for some of the largest funders of representation

02:09for children.

02:10And I have to say, we're talking two-year-olds, five-year-olds, up to 17-year-olds that are

02:15going to have to represent themselves in immigration court.

02:19Has any of that happened yet?

02:20Is this just something, you know, that looms ahead?

02:22Do you see that as likely?

02:23I mean, it just seems impossible.

02:25Well, there has been a history of children having to represent themselves in court.

02:30A lot of organizations are being funded to provide representation at no cost to the children.

02:37So it has happened before, but we're really seeing wide scale layoffs of attorneys who

02:43provide pro bono representation of children.

02:46I anticipate that there's going to be a lawsuit to try and stop that from happening.

02:51I mean, when it comes to Trump's promise of mass deportations, you know, do you see that

02:56being the future?

02:57And, you know, could he even bring the military in?

02:59Is that actually an option?

03:00Well, the military has been brought in under previous administrations to do administrative

03:06tasks, stock warehouses, mend fences, so that more immigration officials can be out

03:13on the street making arrests.

03:16The president has the authority to deport every single person present in the U.S. in

03:21violation of immigration law, but there's just not enough personnel, immigration judges,

03:28you know, immigration officials to do that.

03:31The military has always helped in the background, but it would be very problematic if the military,

03:36if the military starts patrolling streets and arresting people and enforcing immigration

03:41law.

03:42We did see recently Guantanamo Bay be, you know, be reopened, if you like, or reused

03:48as a place where asylum seekers or people wanting to make applications to live in the

03:53U.S. would be held.

03:56What kind of people could be sent there and where are they left illegally?

04:01Well, the question about whether certain United States protections can be afforded to people

04:09in Guantanamo Bay has made it a more desirable place.

04:12I believe there have already been some Venezuelan immigrants who have been transported to Guantanamo

04:17Bay, and I know there's been litigation to prevent certain people in detention from being

04:23transported while they have cases here in the U.S. because the jurisdiction of those

04:28cases might go away.

04:30It's really an effort to, well, I think part of it is show, but also a lot of it is to

04:37make it harder for immigrants to have access to attorneys, resources to isolate them and

04:46make it easier to deport them.

04:47Finally, before we leave you, Ms. Reese, how worried are you for migrants in the United

04:51States?

04:53Well, I see a lot of, I see a lot of morale that's falling.

05:00I feel like there's a lot of tension regarding just the treatment of immigrants and the dehumanization

05:08of immigrants.

05:09I think that there's going to be a lot of litigation.

05:14I think President Trump might be prevented from doing some of the things that he wants

05:19to do, like end birthright citizenship, but I think that he's also going to get away with

05:24some of these very draconian measures.

05:27And he's really amplifying kind of the authority of the president over immigration.

05:32Ms. Jean Reese of the USC Gould School of Law Immigration Clinic, thanks very much indeed

05:37for your time.

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