A US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent witnesses an operation.Grégory Bull/AP

A growing number Law enforcement officials and Democratic leaders across the country are speaking out about their plans to thwart one of President-elect Donald Trump’s top priorities on immigration: Mass deportation. Learning lessons from the first four years of the Trump era, many have vowed to stand their ground and refuse to cooperate with federal law enforcement in arresting undocumented immigrants. They are also preparing countersuits to be ready to sue the new administration as soon as authorities attempt to begin evictions, which they have promised to begin on day one.

In interviews with Policy Published Saturday, prosecutors in six Democratic-led states outlined plans to pursue legal action against actions Trump may take to carry out his immigration agenda.

These include the potential deployment of the U.S. military to the country to track down undocumented immigrants, violations of immigrants’ due process rights, the withholding of funds in so-called sanctuary cities, and attempts to delegate the Red States National Guard to carry out arrests and attacks. detentions in the blues.

These prosecutors said they are also preparing to combat scenarios in which the administration tries to send immigration agents into schools and hospitals, or in which it takes away federal funds from law enforcement. local authorities to force them to comply with eviction plans.

Earlier this week, Trump reaffirmed his plans to declare a national emergency in order to use federal troops to round up targets for deportation.

“If he wants to carry out this type of deportation, the largest deportation in the history of the United States, as he says, he will by definition have to target the people who are here legally and… go after the American citizens,” said Matthew Platkin of New Jersey. the attorney general said Policylikely referring to the fact that millions of undocumented people live with American citizens, including those whose children were born on American soil. These children should leave the country with their deported parents so that the families can stay together. “We are not going to tolerate this,” Platkin added. The goal of the best prosecutors in blue states, Democratic Attorneys General Association President Sean Rankin said ABC Newsis to present a “united front” against Trump’s immigration agenda.

The Trump administration will inevitably face not only legal but also logistical problems. obstacles if they try to keep their promise to carry out an unprecedented mass deportation campaign. As Dara Lind of the American Immigration Council recently wrote in the New York Timesexpelling a million The annual number of undocumented immigrants — a fraction of the estimated 11 million living in the country — would cost $88 billion a year. The limited number of detention beds and years-long immigration court backlogs will also prevent a massive crackdown.

Yet Tom Homan, Trump’s new “border czar,” who will not need Senate confirmation, has indicated the administration will do so. push hard against the jurisdictions that get in their way. “If we can’t get help from New York City,” Homan says said Fox News recently said, “We may have to double the number of agents we send to New York.” Because we will get the job done. We will do the work without you or with you. And in fact, Homan has a history of promoting extreme immigration policies: As head of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during Trump’s first term, he was the architect of the “zero tolerance” policy that separated thousands of parents from their children at the border. To date, many were not brought together.

Several Democratic leaders have publicly stated that they will not support mass deportation efforts. Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey, who continued the Trump administration, 100 times as attorney general, said it would use “every tool at its disposal” to protect the state’s people. In a statementA Rhode Island State Police spokesperson said, although they cooperate with ICE, “they are not immigration agents and will not devote time or resources to support enforcement efforts.” mass expulsion.

Top prosecutors in states like Massachusetts are also while trying to dispel unsubstantiated claims, repeatedly reinforced by Trump, that immigrants are more likely to commit crimes. Instead, according to PolicyIn their reporting, they hope to demonstrate that mass evictions would be harmful to the American economy. Like I already did reportedmass deportation of undocumented workers would significantly reduce GDP, increase inflation, and even lead to fewer jobs available to U.S. citizens.