Anti-trafficking advocates question the dissonance in Trump’s approach to unaccompanied children. “If it was about trafficking and kids, they would have used someone other than law enforcement, someone who works with kids, to make sure they are okay,” said Aparna Patrie, a lawyer with the immigrant rights group Roots Reborn. “And they would not be sending kids to court by themselves by cutting off funding for legal representation.”

“If he says he’s going to do something, assume he’s going to do it,” said Aparna Patrie, who works with the nonprofit Roots Reborn that is helping Lahaina immigrants recover from the fire. “I don’t understand how people can look at him and say, ‘that’s just bluster.’ … He and everyone under him have had four years to figure out how to be more effective this time around. And most presidents don’t get that luxury.”

Since those conversations began, she said, the Maui department authored a policy that allows crime victims who cooperate with police to apply for a visa. Patrie later added in an email: “Law enforcement serves a valuable role in our society at large and in our community in particular, but if our community loses trust in law enforcement, that hurts everyone. We are grateful that MPD has made a concerted effort to build trust with our community. If we lose that trust, then at the end of the day everyone is less safe.”

Aparna Patrie is interviewed for the podcast Global Student Voices about her work and perspective on immigration in the United States.