Jewish organizations alarmed by GOP's deportation plan

(JTA) — MILWAUKEE — Three Jewish organizations dealing with immigration and community relations said they were alarmed by the Republican Party’s plans to launch mass deportations, saying they are steeped in a racist conspiracy theory that at times has veered into antisemitism.

The Republican platform, published this week, pledges to “carry out the largest deportation operation in American history.”

“President Trump and Republicans will reverse the Democrats’ destructive Open Borders Policies that have allowed criminal gangs and Illegal Aliens from around the World to roam the United States without consequences,” the platform says. Analysts have said that such a deportation order could affect as many as 11 million people.

Mark Hetfield, the president of HIAS, the Jewish immigration advocacy group, said that such a plan would trigger legal challenges, and that HIAS would join them, the way it led challenges to some of Trump’s immigration policies in his first term, including his ban on migration from a number of Muslim-majority countries.

“I am certain we would once again challenge them, and join challenges and of course, we will be named plaintiffs,” he said in an interview, noting that in the past HIAS and other Jewish groups, including Jewish Family Service of Seattle, led lawsuits. “We can’t stand by while any of these policies regarding immigrants are implemented.”

Amy Spitalnick, the CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, a national community relations body, also predicted the community would challenge any plans for mass deportation.

“If any official tries to advance mass deportations, make no mistake: the Jewish community will be among the loudest voices fighting back because we understand precisely where this hate and extremism can lead,” she said in an interview.

Jamie Beran, the CEO of Bend the Arc, a Jewish social justice activist network, singled out how deportation figures into the platform’s mention of antisemitism, which pledges to “support revoking Visas of Foreign Nationals who support terrorism and jihadism.”

“Jewish people should never be used as justification for racist, xenophobic policies that harm our immigrant family and fuel antisemitism,” she said in a text. “Bend the Arc will participate in challenging this outrageous plan, and every part the Right’s catastrophic Project 2025, in the legal system and in the streets, together with our partners in the immigrant rights community.”

Other Jewish groups that have in the past advocated for immigrants were silent: the Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Committee declined comment, and the Jewish Federations of North America did not return a request for comment. Centrist Jewish groups generally avoid weighing in on hot button issues in an election year. The ADL’s proposed recommendations for party platforms does not include any mention of immigration or refugees.

Spitalnick and Hetfeld both expressed alarm at how the language of the platform appears to be steeped in “replacement theory,” a baseless conspiracy alleging a liberal plot to replace whites with people of color. Versions of the theory have antisemitic overtones alleging that the plot is led by Jews.

Hetfield singled out a passage targeting family reunion policies, which conservatives call “chain migration.”

“Republicans will prioritize Merit-based immigration, ensuring those admitted to our Country contribute positively to our Society and Economy, and never become a drain on Public Resources,” the platform says. “We will end Chain Migration and put American Workers first!”

The platform also declares, “We must not allow Biden’s Migrant Invasion to alter our Country.”

“They’re using the language of invasion and a cultural takeover and tying and focusing crime, as if all crime is brought into this country by immigrants,” said Hetfield, who reviewed GOP platforms through 2012 and found language welcoming refugees that is absent from the current platform. “The scariest part, although we’re starting to get used to this and I hope we never really get used to it,” is that the plan is “basically … a manifesto on replacement theory.”

Spitalnick noted that replacement theory has often veered into antisemitism, and has spurred deadly attacks by antisemites in recent years.

“The ‘invasion’ and other extreme immigration rhetoric and policies embedded in this platform aren’t just draconian and cruel — they have also directly fueled a cycle of xenophobic, racist and antisemitic violence targeting Jews, Latinos, Black Americans and so many others,” she said. “This is fundamentally at odds with Jewish values and Jewish safety. I can’t believe this is a real conversation in America in 2024.”

Hetfield said a separate pledge in the platform to deport visiting students who organize pro-Palestinian protests would also face legal challenges.

“Protesting is not a ground for removal,” he said. “That’s an infringement of free speech. And if you’re rounding up protesters, and you’re deporting those who happen to be noncitizens, because they were engaged in a protest, that would be completely unacceptable.”