WASHINGTON — After Democrats' overwhelming midterm victories this week, winning candidates spoke of the need, once they are sworn in, to rein in President Donald Trump's mass deportation machine. Some suggested putting forward a new vision for immigration reform while both houses of Congress are in Democratic control.
The lofty goals come after two years in which Democrats, while in the minority, were limited in how much they could counter Trump's supercharged and, at times, chaotic immigration enforcement. But there are clear limits to what they can achieve even after Democrats' epic win, with Trump — who rode into power in part on a promise to curb immigration — in office for another two years and wielding his veto power.
What's more, Republicans have frontloaded billions of dollars for immigration enforcement. And the key architect of the president's hard-line immigration agenda, Stephen Miller, was elevated Friday to become Trump's chief of staff — suggesting immigration enforcement may not slow down any time soon.
Here's a look at what might come next for immigration after Election Day:
Investigating alleged corruption and ICE policies
Democrats appear ready to use the power of congressional oversight to investigate Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security. That strategy will likely resonate with voters angry aboutt how enforcement operations were carried out in places like Minneapolis or ICE arrests of longtime immigrants integrated into American society.
The administration ramped up immigration enforcement during the first two years of Trump's second term, launching major operations in multiple cities and sending arrests soaring. DHS also came under criticism for alleged corruption and misuse of funds it was granted to carry out Trump's immigration agenda.
Nationally, about 6 in 10 voters said the Trump administration’s actions on immigration enforcement had “gone too far,” according to The AP Voter Poll, a survey of more than 100,000 midterm voters. A similar share disapproved of how ICE was doing its job. And about 6 in 10 voters said immigrants to the U.S. today do more to “help the country," while less than half, about 4 in 10, said they do more to “hurt the country."
Rep. Robert Garcia, a Los Angeles-area Democrat who will take over the House Oversight Committee and is a prominent critic of Trump's immigration agenda, warned the administration to “lawyer up,” adding that investigating alleged abuses at DHS was one of his priorities.
The next Congress will “address the Trump administration’s assault on the rule of law and hold those responsible accountable,” said Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson, the ranking Democrat on the House Homeland Security committee.
Those investigations could delve into issues like DHS purchases of massive warehouses to hold arrested immigrants; whether ICE cut corners when hiring thousands of new deportation officers; or deaths in ICE detention facilities.
Garcia and Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut held shadow hearings featuring family members of people killed during immigration enforcement operations, a whistleblower exposing problems with ICE training, and American citizens caught up in immigration enforcement operations.
No Republicans attended and Democrats couldn’t subpoena witnesses. Now they can, opening up a new level of scrutiny of the administration's actions.
Calls to put forward a Democratic vision for immigration
The last time Congress even came close to passing comprehensive immigration reform was in 2013. That proposal cleared the Senate but died in the House.
Border crossings that surged under the Biden administration further served to dampen any Democratic enthusiasm to talk about legalization for any immigrants.
Sarah Pierce, director of social policy for Third Way, a Washington, D.C., think tank, said Democrats need to show voters their own vision for immigration and border security and not just focus on oversight hearings of what happened during the last two years.
“They should lean into oversight, but I think that they also need to couple that with a proactive vision for what immigration should look like in the United States,” said Pierce.
At least one of the party's new senators is ready for the discussion. During an interview with Fox News after the election, Sen.-elect James Talarico of Texas discussed the need to pass comprehensive immigration reform, including a pathway to citizenship for immigrants living and working illegally in the country for years.
In the House, Rep. Gabe Vasquez of New Mexico pointed to the Democratic gains made with Latino voters and the higher numbers of Latino lawmakers who will take office next year as reasons for Democrats to not shy away from talking about immigration issues.
He said Democrats should find ways to address immigration through a lens of affordability, a central issue for voters. For example, they could tackle staffing shortages by creating a new visa class for workers who provide care for children or the elderly.
“This cannot be a third-rail issue for Democrats,” said Vasquez. “We can actually reform our immigration system to bring costs down for all Americans and at the same time give people who are either here undocumented or want to come to this country an opportunity to have legal status.”
Democrats' power to curb Trump's immigration agenda is limited
Trump, shortly after the election, said he was prepared to work with Democrats on certain issues, highlighting immigration as one of them. But that collaborative tone may not bear out in practice.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin vowed on social media, “Deportations will continue.” A few days later, Trump promoted Miller to become his chief of staff.
Immigration and Latino activists lambasted Miller's promotion, calling it an act of defiance after voters spoke clearly at the polls and a sign the president would continue his immigration policies. California’s Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla, who’s been a key critic of Trump’s immigration agenda, said Trump was choosing to double down by picking Miller and vowed, “So will we.”
It's unclear if Democrats and the White House will find a middle ground to successfully pass immigration legislation. With Trump in office for another two years, he can veto any Democratic legislation, and Republicans have the money and the personnel to pursue Trump’s immigration agenda regardless of Tuesday’s results.
Republicans during the summer of 2025 supercharged immigration enforcement with $150 billion intended to expand immigration detention capacity, finish the border wall and hire thousands more deportation officers. Earlier this year they frontloaded routine funding for ICE and Border Patrol for the next three years.
“My fear is that enforcement will get worse. And the country will also see that Congress does not have many tools to stop the executive branch because the executive branch power on immigration has grown so vast,” said Andrea Flores, who was a policy adviser in the Obama and Biden administrations.
Conservatives want action from lame duck Congress
Many administration supporters want this current Congress — in the little time it has left — to pass laws solidifying the gains the Trump administration says it has made on border security and immigration. Without codifying changes to asylum law or tightening requirements on employers to verify workers' immigration status, they warn, a different administration could quickly reverse the new immigration landscape Trump has shaped.
NumbersUSA, an advocacy group that seeks to restrict immigration, has a timer on its website counting down the days until this Congress is over with a warning to “make border security permanent.”
“If this Congress in the lame duck does not secure the border with lasting legislation," said the organization's co-president, Jeremy Beck, “then this Congress will have failed to meet the moment.”
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Associated Press reporter Linley Sanders contributed to this report.