Trump's Deportation Push Becomes Top Issue in US Midterms

Immigration enforcement has pushed its way to the top of voter concerns heading into the Nov. 3 midterms, as ICE arrests and detentions sit at their highest levels on record, according to a live Q&A from The Guardian US published Wednesday and updated Thursday.

Why is immigration dominating the midterm conversation?

Reporters Maanvi Singh, José Olivares and Sam Levin have spent the week answering reader questions about the Trump administration's deportation agenda, from the shift described in a Guardian timeline as moving "from mass raids to quiet crackdown" to questions about whether ICE agents have working body cameras and whether local police can monitor federal immigration agents, the Guardian reports. With less than two weeks until election day, the outlet says immigration remains a defining issue for voters nationwide.

What happens to farms that lose legal migrant workers?

One reader question came from Cheryl Bath of Wisconsin, who told the Guardian she learned during the pandemic how many foreign workers, particularly from Mexico, were employed legally on Wisconsin farms.

"These foreign workers paid into the federal government taxes and social security system which was a plus for U.S. social security," Bath wrote, adding she has been wondering how Wisconsin farms are coping after some of those same workers were deported despite having legal paperwork.

The Guardian's live blog lists "How are US farms surviving without immigrant workers?" and "How can assisted living facilities survive without immigrant workers?" among the questions its reporters are addressing this week, reflecting concern in both agricultural and caregiving industries about losing legal foreign labor.

How are Trump voters and Latino voters reacting?

The Guardian's reporters are also fielding questions on how Trump voters feel about his immigration policies and how support for the administration's approach has shifted among Latino and Hispanic Americans, according to the live blog's list of topics. The outlet has not yet published detailed findings on those questions as of Thursday's update.

What is the Democratic Party's position on immigration enforcement?

Among the questions the Guardian team is working through: what the Democratic Party's current position is on immigration, and how a Democratic majority in Congress could change US refugee policy. The live blog also addresses whether the administration's comments about ICE agents receiving "absolute immunity" have been clarified, and how often the Department of Homeland Security has targeted US citizens in its enforcement actions.

What accountability questions remain unresolved?

Readers have also asked whether there will be legal consequences for immigration enforcement officers involved in the deaths or injuries of US citizens, and why local law enforcement agencies are limited in their ability to monitor ICE activity in their jurisdictions. The Guardian's live coverage, which it says will continue updating, has not yet resolved those questions with final answers as of the latest post.

Voters following the ICE debate and other midterm storylines in the run-up to Nov. 3 have new tools to track races in real time, including a live blog, interactive map and AI chatbot that Fox News Media launched this week to cover the midterm elections.

The Guardian says it will keep updating its live Q&A as more reader questions come in before election day.