President Donald Trump continues to pursue an aggressive deportation campaign that has brought federal officials into U.S. cities and towns, apparently to detain as many undocumented and documented individuals as possible. Many of those apprehended are subsequently held in detention and removed from the country.

For many Americans, the constant stream of controversy, drama, and scandal makes it difficult to grasp how far-reaching the administration’s actions have been. Under the direction of Stephen Miller, Trump has launched one of the most aggressive deportation campaigns in recent history. In contrast to President Barack Obama, who also undertook a major deportation effort (critics called him the “deporter-in-chief”), there is no longer any ambition or effort to secure a path to citizenship in exchange for the hardline stance.

President Donald Trump continues to pursue an aggressive deportation campaign that has brought federal officials into U.S. cities and towns, apparently to detain as many undocumented and documented individuals as possible. Many of those apprehended are subsequently held in detention and removed from the country.

For many Americans, the constant stream of controversy, drama, and scandal makes it difficult to grasp how far-reaching the administration’s actions have been. Under the direction of Stephen Miller, Trump has launched one of the most aggressive deportation campaigns in recent history. In contrast to President Barack Obama, who also undertook a major deportation effort (critics called him the “deporter-in-chief”), there is no longer any ambition or effort to secure a path to citizenship in exchange for the hardline stance.

One of the most dramatic pieces of evidence as to how much political attitudes about immigration have changed centers on Cuban immigrants in the United States, who long supported hardline anti-communist policies and often vote Republican in cities such as Miami. In 1966, Congress passed the Cuban Adjustment Act that provided special protections for persons who fled from Fidel Castro’s regime.

But 60 years later, Cubans who once benefited from special immigration protections for decades are now as vulnerable to removal as other noncitizens. Before the start of summer, the United States had already deported over 4,300 Cubans to Mexico. As the Trump administration accelerates its threatening rhetoric about Cuba, with some observers anticipating possible military action after a brutal economic blockade, there is little evidence that refugees who have made it to the United States can rest any easier.

These policies mark a dramatic reversal from the way many Americans thought about immigrants, refugees, and persons in exile during the 1960s. At that time, public........

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