TBI Director Ev Meade Doubts Trump Effect on Undocumented Immigration on NBC

TBI Director Ev Meade Doubts Trump Effect on Undocumented Immigration on NBC

Ev Meade on NBC

TBI Director Ev Meade spoke to Katia Lopez Hodayan of NBC this week, about the Trump Administration's claims that they have already caused a decline in illegal immigration.  Dr. Meade finds the claim to be unreasonable. The current decline is part of a trend going back at least 15 years, January and February are almost always the quietest months on the border, and very few of the operational changes touted by the new administration are actually in place – like the hiring of thousands of new agents, for example.   

There’s some anecdotal evidence of a deterrent effect of the new administration within immigrant communities in the United States – kids not going to school, people afraid to call the police or go out in public, and general souring of community relations. But, the actual law enforcement actions that have provoked these fears have been exaggerated in many cases, and even in the presence of multiple examples and a palpable sense of uncertainty, the overall impact of these policies is yet to be determined.

The real deterrents to migration over the last decade have been macroeconomic forces and the increasing influence of organized crime in the border region. In general, opportunity seekers are deciding to stay away, and those who are risking the journey increasingly fit the profile of refugees better than that of immigrants.

 Check out the full interview:

http://www.nbcsandiego.com/on-air/as-seen-on/Katia5pm0327_San-Diego-417249973.html

Contact:

Ev Meade
emeade@sandiego.edu
(619) 218-5946