Mid-term elections 2026: Trump’s immigration policy is causing uncertainty amongst businesses

In 2024, many voters backed Trump’s promise of a tough deportation policy. Yet in the run-up to the mid-term elections, it has become clear that the ruthless approach of the immigration agency ICE is alienating citizens – and business owners. By Carsten Kühntopp Last September, six Spanish-speaking workers were sitting in a car on the hard shoulder in Highland (Michigan). No fewer than nine ICE patrol cars had forced them to the side of the road and stopped them. An irritated officer demanded to see their papers. When he saw that the man in the front passenger seat was filming him on his mobile, he swatted at the smartphone. The workers spoke hardly any English, the officer no Spanish; the atmosphere was tense. Tyler Ralko posted the video online shortly afterwards. Ralko is the junior manager of GLC Property Maintenance, a gardening and landscaping firm. The six men are his employees; they come from Guatemala, are working legally here in Michigan and, following their check by ICE, were allowed to continue their journey. Ralko says he immediately apologised wholeheartedly to his colleagues, “as an American”: “They come here for a better life, for themselves and their families. For them, America is this wonderful place where you can achieve prosperity. And then to see how they were treated there was really sad for me.” ICE officers cause unease It is not known why ICE stopped the men. But in Donald Trump’s America, it is now legal to stop people simply because they are not white or do not speak English. The Supreme Court ruled as much a year ago. Ralko’s company currently has 57 employees. Twelve of them are from Guatemala and hold H-2B work visas. We couldn’t manage without these men, says Ralko, especially not in the summer, which is the peak season, particularly as the company wants to continue growing. For about two years now, he has been mainly occupied with recruiting staff. But finding “reliable” employees is difficult. Following the incident with ICE, Ralko says he is now concerned that some of his colleagues from Guatemala might not want to return to Highland next year. Unlike in other states, ICE raids in Michigan have so far rarely made the headlines. Yet President Trump’s hard line on immigration policy is causing uncertainty here too. 700,000 people have already been deported. In the presidential election two years ago, most voters in Michigan ticked the box for Trump. Many people wanted immigration laws to be enforced consistently. Trump promised to deport mainly foreign nationals who had committed crimes, and that went down well. Since then, however, the government has gone far beyond this target. Aaron Reichlin-Melnik of the American Immigration Council estimates that around 700,000 people have been deported under Trump so far. That would be many times the number of foreign nationals who have committed crimes. Reichlin-Melnik, who is a respected expert in the field of migration, says that the government itself has not yet published any reliable figures. Consequently, only estimates are possible: since taking office, Trump has ordered mass deportations not only of criminals, but of anyone residing in the country without permission. Furthermore, he has revoked the residence permits of migrants who still held them at the time he took office. Thus, with the stroke of a pen, hundreds of thousands of people who enjoyed a special protection status (“Temporary Protected Status”) became individuals residing in the country illegally, who must expect to be apprehended and deported at any time. According to Reichlin-Melnick, around 25,000 people have so far been deported to third countries, most of them to Mexico – and several hundred to African states such as Eswatini, South Sudan, Equatorial Guinea and Ghana. Often, according to the migration expert, those affected did not even have a passport, a mobile phone or any money on them when ICE flew them to a country they had never set foot in before. There are “illegals” and “illegals” – representative opinion polls show: This cruel approach is alienating more and more Americans. Trump now has the majority of people against him on migration policy as well. This could influence the mid-term elections in November. For a long time now, Americans have distinguished between ‘illegals’ and ‘illegals’, explains Reichlin-Melnick: Americans believe that people who have stayed out of trouble, committed no crimes, started a family and worked hard should be treated differently from those who have only just arrived in the country and have not yet proven that they can live here without causing problems. Around 85 per cent of people are in favour of deporting migrants who have committed serious crimes. But when it comes to deporting a foreign national who has lived in the country for many years, worked, paid taxes and raised children, most Americans believe there must be a way for them to legalise their status and become citizens. “Suddenly, the restaurant closed” The US even relies on people without residence permits. On construction sites in Texas, for example, roughly one in two workers is in the country illegally. Replacing these men with US citizens would be virtually impossible. Qiana Towns Williams, a writer and activist, also believes that Trump’s immigration policy is damaging the domestic economy. She recounts a case that recently made headlines in her home town of Flint (in the US state of Michigan). It involved the co-owner of a Japanese restaurant. Suddenly, ICE took him away. This came as a shock to the community and caused many people to fear…