Indigenous Network was able to attend the American Community Media national briefing, 'From Legality to Illegality'.
Associate Editor Pilar Marrero warned that the Trump administration is pursuing a fundamental redefinition of legal immigration that could strip lawful status from millions of people who have lived in the United States for years or even decades. Through executive actions, Department of Homeland Security policy changes, and new litigation positions, Marrero said the administration is “effectively cancelling the lawful status of entire communities,” including DACA recipients, Temporary Protected Status holders, and people admitted under humanitarian parole from countries such as Cuba, Venezuela, Ukraine, and Afghanistan. If fully implemented, she said, the shift could affect more than two million people nationwide and “fundamentally reshape what legal immigration means in the United States.”
The briefing brought together legal scholars, advocates, and directly impacted voices to unpack the scope and consequences of these changes. Among them was Hiroshi Motomura, co-director of the UCLA Center for Immigration Law and Policy, a leading immigration law scholar who outlined how U.S. law has long recognized multiple forms of lawful status beyond citizenship and green cards. Motomura explained that programs such as TPS, humanitarian parole, and deferred action are legally valid and often serve as pathways toward permanent residence. “These are all statuses that are lawful,” he said, “but this is the focus of the administration’s efforts.” He added that the administration is also signaling it may revisit even more durable protections, including lawful permanent residence granted through asylum or refugee admissions, noting, “You get a green card, you’re on a path, but the administration wants to re-examine this.”
Adelis Ferro, executive director of the Venezuelan American Caucus, joined the panel to speak to the real-world consequences for immigrant communities, particularly those who relied on humanitarian programs to rebuild their lives in the United States. Ferro has long worked with Venezuelan families navigating TPS and parole, and her presence underscored how policy changes translate into fear, instability, and potential displacement for people who believed they were living here legally.
Laura Flores Perilla, a staff attorney at the Justice Action Center, addressed the legal strategies the administration is using to undo existing protections and the challenges advocates face in court. Flores Perilla has represented migrants and asylum seekers nationwide and has been involved in litigation defending humanitarian parole and asylum-based pathways. She emphasized that many of the affected individuals followed the rules set by the U.S. government, only to see those rules abruptly changed.
The panel also included Jeremiah Johnson, a former immigration judge and recently elected vice president of the National Association of Immigration Judges, who brought an inside perspective on how these shifts could affect immigration courts and due process. Johnson has been outspoken about the strain on the court system and the consequences of politicizing immigration adjudication.
Rounding out the panel was Andrea, a DACA recipient and longtime Dreamer activist who participated anonymously for safety reasons. Her inclusion grounded the discussion in lived experience, highlighting what it means to face the possible loss of legal status after growing up and building a life in the United States.
Marrero framed the moment as more than a policy adjustment, stressing its historic implications. “More than 2 million people nationwide could be, in the end, included in this,” she said, urging journalists to closely scrutinize how the administration is redefining legality itself, and what that means for communities that have long considered themselves lawfully part of the country.
