How will Trump’s mass deportation agenda shape the US midterm elections? Our reporters answer your questions live

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With ICE arrests and detentions at their highest levels, immigration remains a key issue for voters less than two weeks before election day. From mass raids to quiet crackdown: a timeline of Trump’s strategic ICE pivotAbdullahi Duale Muhumed, Dadaab Refugee Camp, asks in a callout question: Could a Democratic majority in Congress after the November 2026 midterm elections help reinstate the Welcome Corps refugee sponsorship programme? If Democrats gain control of the House of Representatives or the Senate, what practical steps could they take to restore the programme, and how much power would President Trump retain to block those efforts? For refugees who were hoping to find safety in the United States through Welcome Corps, could a change in congressional leadership offer a realistic path to reopening the programme?José Olivares: The Welcome Corps refugee program, like all refugee programs in the US, was canceled and shut down by the Trump administration in early 2025. This was then compounded with further constraints on refugee communities and their ability to enter the US via travel bans — all through executive order. We recently reported on how the US is admitting only 17,500 refugees for Fiscal Year 2027, but they will “primarily” be white Afrikaners from South Africa. The administration’s refugee policies are now leaving thousands of vetted and approved refugees stuck in refugee camps or in dangerous conditions, including relatives of US citizens. It is hard to speculate, but a Democratic majority in congress would have a very challenging time reinstating the refugee and resettlement programs. Congress would have to introduce and then pass new legislation to override Trump’s refugee and “travel ban” executive orders, which would be a lengthy and difficult battle. At the moment, there is a major lawsuit playing out in a federal court that is challenging the administration’s refugee policies and executive orders. Advocates are hopeful that a federal judge will si