Activists See Their Opening as Weakened Trump Talks Immigration Deal

The day after Democrats rode a midterm wave into control of Congress, Donald Trump changed his tune on the issue he had spent weeks shouting about. In a Fox News interview, the president said he was willing to sit down and negotiate: he could work with Democrats on immigration, and said he had always felt they should be able to. His own administration didn't follow. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin posted on X the day after the vote that deportations will continue.

Trump had spent the campaign telling dozens of rallies there would be no amnesty for undocumented immigrants, blaming them for crime in U.S. cities — claims contradicted by numerous studies and reports. Then the bluenami hit. Democrats stormed the polls, headed toward control of both chambers and grabbed governorships in key states including Texas. Watching the new political map take shape, Trump softened, weakened by the results and facing thinner support on Capitol Hill.

Immigration activists who have marched for decades now see a golden window. In meetings since Tuesday, they've begun planning a return to the streets to demand an end to raids and legalization for more than 10 million undocumented immigrants the administration has targeted since mid-2025. Francisco Moreno, 66, executive director of the Council of Mexican Federations in North America, warned against repeating the past: Barack Obama promised reform for his second term and never delivered. Moreno doesn't see a Trump hungry for a deal, but thinks one may be reachable anyway.

The fight lands near a milestone. November 6 marks 40 years since Republican president Ronald Reagan signed the Immigration Reform and Control Act, granting legal status and a path to permanent residency, then citizenship, to undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. continuously since before January 1, 1982 — nearly three million people, mostly of Mexican origin. Reagan had tipped his hand in a 1984 debate, saying he believed in the idea of amnesty for those who had put down roots and lived here, even if they once entered illegally.

The numbers make the case. Immigrants contribute $1.6 trillion to U.S. gross domestic product, and studies show those legalized under Reagan gained ground fast: by 1992, six years after reform, workers with legal status earned an average of 15% more, with women up 21%, and four in 10 Mexicans who got green cards moved into better-paying jobs. UCLA's Raúl Hinojosa calls the initiative the biggest boost to the U.S. economy in 40 years, and says Trump has used the anti-immigrant issue for political gain rather than national benefit.

Meanwhile the crackdown grinds on. Nearly 400,000 people were detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the first year of Trump's second term alone, straining agriculture, construction and hospitality. Moreno points to H.R. 4393, the Dignity Act, filed in July 2025 by Florida Republican María Elvira Salazar and Texas Democrat Veronica Escobar: protection from deportation, a work permit and travel authorization for those here since before December 31, 2020, valid seven years and renewable indefinitely — but costing $7,000 and offering no route to a green card. Escobar won reelection; Salazar's Miami race is still undecided. Moreno's read: the ideal moment is now.