Mass deportations and internment camps would destroy American families
As we all look to find the political horizon in the United States, one proposal looms large and foreboding: Project 2025. This initiative, championed by conservative think tanks and several Trump 2016 administration officials, promises to reshape America’s immigration policies in ways that should concern every Floridian and every American who values fairness, justice and humanity.
I grew up in Florida, a state that has long been a gateway for those fleeing repression, political persecution and life-threatening conditions in other countries, but I hardly recognize it these days. Driven by their own ambitions, conservative politicians have targeted the rich cultural tapestry of Florida as the front line of a project to sow fear and divide families.
At its core, Project 2025 represents a dramatic escalation in the enforcement of immigration laws. It seeks to implement draconian measures, including mass deportations, detention camps in cities and towns, and the stripping away of legal protections for millions of people who are searching for their American dream. The project envisions a future where immigration enforcement is not just a priority but an all-consuming crusade — a man, woman and child hunt with the full force of the federal government bearing down on every single community.
In Florida, where nearly one in five residents is an immigrant, the implications are particularly dire. The state’s economy, heavily reliant on agriculture, tourism and construction — sectors that depend on immigrant labor — would be devastated. After last year’s passage of the anti-immigrant Senate Bill 1718, we’ve already started seeing this. However, the economic impact is only the beginning. The human cost of these policies would be incalculable.
Project 2025 is a takeover of government and civil society as we know it. It will fundamentally change the American way of life and the values and freedoms that define us as a nation and as a beacon of hope on the world’s stage.
As the partner of a deported person, the personal pain caused by separation hits close to home for me. We know that the separation and the distance don’t break apart the bond we share, but the pain of having to walk through our daily lives without being there to support each other is ever-present. We wake up in different places, eat dinners together only over a video screen, and plan a life where we can be together again. I know what hard work it is to make that bridge and to keep those connections alive, and I would not wish this experience of having the fabric of your life torn apart on any family.
Can you imagine a Florida where families live in constant fear? Where children come home from school to find their parents have been detained or deported, or where parents learn that their children were taken from school? This is not a dystopian fantasy — these are potential outcomes if the immigration provisions of Project 2025 become reality. The psychological trauma inflicted on children who suddenly lose their caregivers, the erosion of trust between communities and law enforcement, and the overall climate of fear and suspicion are horrors we should not — and must not — accept.
Families, children, pregnant women and the elderly would likely face inhumane treatment in overcrowded detention centers. The United States, once a beacon of hope for those fleeing persecution and seeking a better life, would become a country that punishes the very people it once welcomed. This will be a stain on our country that we will never be able to remove.
This all may sound extreme, but how else do you pull off a mass deportation? Project 2025 lays the foundations for a mass deportation, and recent history shows us exactly what draconian measures would need to be scaled up to get this done.
As Floridians and Americans, we must not stand idly by as the horrors of Project 2025 inch closer to reality. This is a moment for collective action, for communities to come together in defense of the values that truly make America great: compassion, respect for our neighbors and the belief that everyone deserves a chance to pursue their dreams.
The America envisioned by Project 2025 is one of separating families and spreading fear in our communities. But we have the power to choose a different path — a path that embraces the contributions of immigrants, keeps families together, and fosters a society where everyone, regardless of where they come from, has the opportunity to thrive.
Tiffany Hankins is the political director of the Florida Immigrant Coalition and FLIC Votes. She resides in Miami.
