Trump's cruelty has gone too far - and America will punish him

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After a day of horror in Washington, just as Thanksgiving was drawing to a close, Donald Trump began rage-posting against those who “hate, steal murder and destroy everything America stands for”.

Two members of the National Guard had been shot in the capital and one, Sarah Beckstrom, 20, had died of her injuries. The suspected gunman had been working with the CIA in Afghanistan and had resettled in the US after the 2021 evacuation.

Trump was in a vengeful mood. “I will permanently pause migration from all Third World countries,” he posted shortly before midnight on Truth Social. He also vowed to reverse migration and “remove anyone who is not a net asset to the United States”.

Under immediate threat are migrants from “third-world” countries of the kind the President has previously called “shitholes”, and he went on an extended rant in his post about Somalians. Following the attack, some Republican lawmakers have called for all “Islamist” migrants to be deported.

But Trump, very casually, also threw in a few words about ending ”all Federal benefits and subsidies to non-citizens” which could upend lives and disrupt millions of hard-working families in America.

Did Trump mean that green card holders – US permanent residents, who work and pay taxes in the US – would no longer be eligible for pensions, medicare and other federal benefits? Or was it just a cruel, passing post?

Such a policy would go well beyond Trump’s Fortress America directives, which have staunched the flow of migrants into the US.

The uncertainty and fear gripping the lives of immigrant families, including those with legal status in America, is causing havoc with Trump’s approval ratings. If the President carries out his latest threat, the Republicans could face a bloodbath in the midterm elections and beyond.

The coalition of independents, minority voters and the young that turned to Trump in 2024 is fracturing as the harshness of the regime intensifies. For the first time, his approval rating was negative with every major pollster this week.

The President has dismissed these as “fake polls” but the latest Fox News poll showed that only 41 per cent of voters approved of Trump’s performance compared to 58 per cent who disapproved.

That’s largely due to economic concerns, but according to Pew Research, four out of five Hispanics say Trump’s policies are harming their community – and 36 million of them are eligible to vote. They are the second largest voting bloc in the US.

If anyone doubts how closely entwined immigration is within almost every American family, just look at the case of Karoline Leavitt, Trump’s White House press secretary.

Bruna Ferreira, the mother of Leavitt’s 11-year-old nephew, was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents (ICE) on 12 November while on the way to pick up one of her sons from school.

“They were not the most gentle with her,” Ferreira’s sister told the Boston Globe. “I’m sure my sister was terrified, frantic. She’s been here since she was six years old. She’s more American than she is anything else.”

Ferreira, 33, came from Brazil with her parents and had received temporary protection as a “dreamer” under DACA (deferred action for childhood arrivals). Her lawyer said she was undergoing the lengthy green card application process and denied that she had a criminal charge for battery.

Leavitt’s brother Michael has custody of their child. He said in a statement, “My only concern has always been the safety, well-being, and privacy of my son.”

At the school gate, the immigration office and traffic stops, whole communities are feeling traumatised by the attack on their status, including US citizens who don’t look “American” enough to satisfy masked ICE agents.

There are nearly 13 million green card holders in the US, many married to American citizens and with US children, who will grow up to vote. They’re the lucky ones, who have hitherto been treated for all intents and purposes as citizens. But this may be about to change.

Trump promised mass deportations during the last election, but voters supposed these would only affect the “worst of the worst” criminal elements in the US, as homeland security secretary Kristi Noem promised. But ICE’s dragnet is spreading wide.

A 19-year-old student, Any Lucia Lopez Belloza, was detained at Boston airport on her way to Texas to visit her family for Thanksgiving and deported to Honduras, despite a federal judge’s order blocking her removal. She hasn’t lived there since she was eight.

According to David Bier of the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, only five per cent of ICE detainees had a criminal conviction for violence, and 73 per cent had no criminal convictions.

Trump has been urging US diplomats in Britain and Europe to highlight “violent crimes associated with people of a migration background”. That he should be trying to export division is shocking enough in itself. But, as his own conduct shows, he won’t stop there.

The President is threatening to criminalise entire communities in the US. Most American citizens, including his own press secretary, have friends and family affected. We have a vote. Does he really want to punish us all?

Sarah Baxter is director of the Marie Colvin Centre for International Reporting