NEW YORK — Children torn from parents, refugees turned away and a relentless stream of changes to immigration regulation and enforcement.
To those who champion President Donald Trump and believe cracking down on immigration translates to better lives for Americans, 2018’s breathless headlines were a fulfillment of campaign promises. To many others, they harkened back to dark moments in U.S. history.
“This is our generation’s sort of existential moment,” said Frank Sharry, head of pro-immigration group America’s Voice. “Are we going to continue to be a nation that practices ‘e pluribus unum’ and welcomes people from around the world to make this country better? Or are we going to shut the door?”
Throughout 2018, the answer has largely been the latter.
Even as those living in the U.S. illegally remain targets, the administration has sought to redefine what legal immigration looks like, too, slowing or halting those seeking to come to the country for a job offer, through their relationship to a citizen, or to find a home as a refugee or asylee.