Here’s the real tea on Obama vs. Trump immigration policies

Here’s the real tea on Obama vs. Trump immigration policies — because people love to call out hypocrisy without actually knowing the facts.

Obama’s approach was not the same as Trump’s. Not even close.

Obama prioritized deporting folks with verified criminal records, especially recent arrivals and real national security threats, through programs like Secure Communities.

He exercised prosecutorial discretion, respecting court decisions—especially for long-time residents and Dreamers. Courts’ judgments mattered. Not so with Trump, who constantly fought every case, ignoring courts and dragging it all to the Supreme Court.

Obama created DACA and granted Temporary Protected Status for many vulnerable people. Trump rescinded these protections.

When concerns about detention centers arose, Obama’s administration took steps to improve conditions and moved away from detention toward alternatives.

Obama funded subsidized legal representation and free orientation programs for minors and asylum seekers to help them navigate the complex immigration system. Trump killed those programs.

Obama didn’t build a multi-million-dollar detention camp in the middle of the brutal Florida Everglades like the Trump administration did. Seriously, that place is a nightmare waiting to happen.

Also, let's be clear about “illegal aliens”: People going through defensive or affirmative asylum processes, following all government rules, showing up for appointments — they’re not illegal. Yet, under Trump, many were ripped from families and detained anyway.

So before you scream hypocrisy, get the facts straight. These policies are not the same, and calling them so just erases the human reality behind the cruelty.