Consequences

Last Tuesday, November 5, 2024, the United States held an election not only for the presidency and vice presidency but also 34 seats in the Senate and all 435 spots for the House of Representatives. Other states also had governorships and local races and some had propositions that were placed into ballot for the people to vote on. While Tuesday was the official election day, voting had already started days or even weeks prior to November 5 either in person or by mail with estimates going as high as over 76 million early votes that had already been cast. Turnout was high at 64.5 % which showed that 158 million ballots were counted out of 245 million eligible voters.

In what was touted to be a very close race but turned out to be a wrong prediction, former president Donald J. Trump won convincingly against his Democratic rival Vice President Kamala Harris beating her both at the Electoral College and at the popular vote. This resounding win by Mr. Trump cascaded through the other candidates of his own party as the Senate recaptured the majority. As of this writing, it is not clear yet who will hold the House majority as there are still a few congressional votes being counted in other areas, but if the Republicans maintain the House gavel, it will become the perfect trifecta of consolidated Republican power. With both chambers held by his own party, Mr. Trump has the clear pathway to forge his agenda with little or weak resistance from the Democrats.

Pundits had a field day or two analyzing the results of the election. Why did Mr. Trump win and why despite his rhetoric, campaign style, and outsize personality, did half the country vote him? And why did Harris lose despite the billions in campaign funds, celebrity endorsements, and the advantages of incumbency? Political scientists, opinion makers and historians will ponder this in the years to come and I will leave it to them. What I can say is that while there are myriad reasons you can think of, the election result is a reflection on the collective political maturity of the body politic in response to the set of choices they have to make at a given time. The US have been trying, testing, and modifying this democratic experiment that even until now still has challenges in order to make it not perfect but fair, not expedient but reflective of the will of the electorate. In the days, months, and years to come, we will know whether the results of the elections were good for us and for the country. Not only in merely knowing but also in enduring the consequences of such choice.

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Speaking of consequences, I have received calls from clients on how Mr. Trump's election could affect their immigration status. I caution everyone against rushing to speculations and making unfounded assumptions which would just lead to useless anxiety. Mr. Trump's general pronouncement during the campaign is that his priority will be closing the border and deporting illegal immigrants with criminal records. I think we all can agree that the border crisis needs to be addressed and our communities made safe from criminal activities whether perpetrated by illegals or not. That’s why it’s not surprising that for immigrant communities across the US, illegal immigration was one of the top three issues and was one of the reasons they voted for Mr. Trump. So, if you are here in the US illegally but you don’t have a criminal record, it doesn’t mean you won’t be facing a deportation proceeding, but in the order of priorities, you are way below the line.

In future columns, we will discuss more on other immigration consequences that may arise as Mr. Trump returns to the Oval Office.