One Year In, Trump Escalates Immigration Enforcement at the Expense of Civil Rights
Washington, D.C. — Today marks President Trump’s first year back in office, and it has been defined by a dangerous erosion of due process and civil liberties. Families are being separated, people are being targeted without clear justification, and constitutional protections that are meant to safeguard all of us are being routinely disregarded.
A snapshot of the administration’s first year: sweeping executive actions, aggressive enforcement, and escalating threats to civil rights and public safety:
- On day one, President Donald Trump signed an executive order ending birthright citizenship.
- U.S. cities are increasingly being militarized, as the Trump administration threatens to invoke the Insurrection Act in response to protests.
- With the increased presence of the National Guard in U.S. cities, the use of tear gas and rubber bullets have been used against the American people.
- The use of Black Hawk helicopters in residential areas in the middle of the night.
- Under the hands of ICE, Renee Nicole Good was wrongfully killed.
- The Trump administration has carried out third-country deportations, sending individuals to countries that are not their country of origin. One such case is Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was wrongfully deported to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador.
- There has been a clear lack of accountability, as the administration continues to embolden ICE agents while failing to hold them responsible for excessive use of force.
Commenting on President Trump’s one year anniversary, Voto Latino issued the following statement:
“Rather than tackling the affordability crisis or making communities safer, the administration has pursued an aggressive and disproportionate immigration enforcement agenda that relies on chaos profiling, and unchecked authority. Latino families and immigrant communities are bearing the brunt, facing heightened surveillance, racial discrimination, and excessive enforcement. By normalizing the militarization of our neighborhoods and emboldening bad-faith federal agents, this administration has undermined public trust and replaced the rule of law with a culture of suspicion. This is not about immigration alone; it is about the steady unraveling of basic civil rights and democratic norms.
One year in, the reality is clear: when due process is treated as optional and entire communities are targeted as threats, all Americans are made less safe. A democracy cannot endure when constitutional rights are selectively applied, and the consequences of this approach are already being felt by families and communities across the country.”
Voto Latino will continue to hold the Trump administration accountable for actions that are deeply impacting vulnerable communities across the country. As we move closer to the 2026 midterm elections, Voto Latino is doubling down on efforts to register Latinos to vote so they can elect leaders who represent their values, understand their issues, and fight for them.
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Voto Latino is a civic advocacy organization dedicated to educating and empowering the next generation of Latino voters while working to build a more inclusive and representative democracy. Since its founding, Voto Latino has registered nearly two million voters. In 2024, the organization took legal action to protect voting rights, filing multiple lawsuits in Texas, Arizona, and North Carolina to safeguard access to the ballot ahead of the elections.