How Trump Is Trying to Unmake Americans

Since 2017, the Trump administration has stripped naturalized Americans of their citizenship and revoked passports at unprecedented levels. Moreover, research shows these actions are most often based on the race or ethnicity of the citizens being targeted.

As the work done by Griselda San Martin, showcased below, makes clear, everyday U.S. citizens, many of whom have long lived trans-border lives, are increasingly at risk of their passports being revoked. Worse yet, the United States is losing its promise of equality for all citizens.

Diego (not his real name), a veteran, displays his military garb while standing in his home, in Brownsville, Texas. Diego was born in Texas and has family on both sides of the U.S. border with Mexico. As an American citizen, crossing back and forth should be routine for him. In recent years, however, Diego has often been pulled aside by U.S. border officials, subjected to additional scrutiny, and told he will be placed in removal proceedings. “I’ve been to a bunch of places and I always traveled with my military ID and my orders,” he says. “But now they’re questioning me.”

Mary lives in Brownsville, Texas, close to the Mexico border. Mary was born in Mexico and is now a U.S. citizen, and she has been a midwife for 46 years. She says that while she used to handle about 30 deliveries per month, nowadays business is slow. She believes that the hostile environment near the border is at least a partial explanation.

Maria (not her real name) sits for a portrait in her aunt and uncle’s house, in Brownsville, Texas. Although she was born in the U.S., authorities have tried to deny her passport. “Ever since I turned 18, I voted,” she says, explaining her devotion to the United States. “I really love the U.S. I feel safe here. I am a U.S. citizen.”

A section of the border wall separating the United States and Mexico, in Brownsville, Texas.

In the first photo, Raquel poses for a portrait in her home, in Matamoros, Mexico, which is on the other side of the section of the border wall found in Brownsville, Texas. In the second Raquel’s daughters pose for a portrait outside their school, in Brownsville, Texas. Because border officials have tried to question Raquel’s citizenship, her daughters have to cross the border every day if they want to stay enrolled in their school while also living with their mother.

Attorney Jaime Diez stands in front of Brownsville’s Federal Courthouse, in downtown Brownsville, Texas. “I’ve been doing passport cases for almost 10 years,” he says. “People ask me if it’s worse, now that we have an administration that is tougher on immigrants, and I think that, yeah, it is worse. Now, with the Trump Administration, I think [nativism within government agencies] is even stronger, because I believe they allow these ideas to be openly said.”

In the first photo, Alvaro (not his real name) poses with a cowboy hat and a U.S. flag in his home, in Los Fresnos, which is near Brownsville, Texas. The second photo, meanwhile, shows a class picture that was taken when Alvaro was a student of an elementary school in Los Fresnos. Under the Trump administration, Alvaro’s mother was detained and interrogated by border officials — who coerced her into falsely claiming Alvaro was born in Mexico — and his wife’s green card was rejected. Despite these traumas and indignities, Alvaro still loves his country: “We’re all one family — that’s what makes this country great,” he says. “I have faith in my country.”

The entrance of Port Isabel Detention Center, in Los Fresnos, Texas, where some U.S. citizens have been held, interrogated, and accused of using falsified birth records.

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