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Donald Trump has reaffirmed his intentions to make mass deportations a central part of his second term if elected. While the impact of these measures on immigrant communities is well-known, the potential devastation on American citizens, particularly the nearly 20 million US-born children of immigrant parents, is equally alarming.

"Mass deportations will be profoundly harmful to US citizen children," stated Andrew Craycroft, a staff attorney at the Immigrant Legal Resource Center in San Francisco. Data from 2022 shows that one in four US children had at least one immigrant parent, and over 4 million US citizens under the age of 18 lived with an undocumented parent. These children, who have integrated into American society by attending schools and participating in community activities, face the terrifying prospect of losing their parents.

Kelly Albinak Kribs, co-director at the Young Center for Immigrant Children's Rights, emphasized the profound psychological impact of Trump's immigration policies. Unlike previous administrations, which implemented safeguards during deportations, the Trump administration's harsh measures appeared designed to induce fear and trauma among immigrant families.

Trump's earlier "zero tolerance" policy led to the separation of at least 5,000 foreign-born children and hundreds of US citizen children from their parents. Interior enforcement measures intensified under Trump, with raids targeting work sites and public scenes, such as the 2019 operation in Mississippi where nearly 700 undocumented workers were arrested, many of whom had US-born children.

Kribs warns that such draconian measures, including family separations, could resurface if Trump returns to office. Moreover, Trump's ambitions may extend to immigrants with legal status, denaturalization, and possibly the end of birthright citizenship. However, executing these policies, especially large-scale deportations, would be logistically challenging and extremely costly, straining coordination with foreign governments and US agencies alike.

Debu Gandhi of the Center for American Progress highlighted that deporting workers could have severe economic repercussions, such as accelerating inflation and disrupting the supply chain. This, coupled with the emotional and psychological toll on US citizen children, would squander taxpayer dollars on futile and damaging operations.

Public opposition to extreme immigration policies, as seen during Trump's first term, could again act as a check on such measures. Lee Gelernt from the American Civil Liberties Union notes that the widespread backlash to the family separation policies of 2018 indicates that the public may push back against further extreme actions.

The looming threat of mass deportation has already instilled a sense of dread among mixed-status families. Research shows that the mere prospect of parental separation can result in PTSD and toxic stress among children. Furthermore, fear of arrest may lead immigrant parents to withdraw from public services, risking their children's health and welfare.

In the face of potential deportation, some parents may choose to keep their families together by leaving the US, uprooting their US-citizen children to settle in unfamiliar and potentially unsafe countries. Even though current guidelines urge humane treatment during deportations, they are non-binding, leaving many children without the right to remain with their parents.

Recognizing the gravity of the situation, advocates for immigrant and child welfare are bracing for what they predict will be an imminent crisis affecting millions of US citizen children. "We are facing these next four years clear-eyed and ready to meet the challenge," said Kribs. "But there's going to be a lot of heartbreak along the way."