Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) President Trump won the White House based partly on his promise to reign in immigration.
Attorney Rosanna Berardi of Berardi Immigration Law tells WBEN, talk on the campaign trail is one thing. Carrying it out is entirely different.
"It's super complex from a legal perspective and super expensive," explained Berardi.
"We're talking about 11 million to 20 million people. It is a massive task that I think is unlikely to happen."
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Berardi said you have to look at all of the immigration issues in the context of the United States Constitution and our laws.
"We can't just, willy nilly, go knocking on doors and bring people back to their home countries. In the United States," she said, "that is not how things work."
She believes the new Trump administration is relying on a law from the 1800's called the "Alien Enemies Act " to expedite deportations. The law has not been used since the 1940's.
"In order to use this law, there has to be a formal declaration of war by congress. Is that likely to happen? "Absolutely not," she answered.
Berardi believes Trump's hard core message will, however, have a chilling effect on people crossing the border illegally.
"It's probably happening right now. A changing of the guard always leads to changes at the border, for better or for worse. I think we're going to see the numbers of people trying to come into the United States decrease."
The legal basis for mass deportations is unfounded in Berardi's opinion. Asylum seekers have constitutional protections that allow people the right to a hearing and a right to their day in court.
Berardi noted that since the election, her firm's phones have been ringing off the hook.
"People want to get everything filed by the end of the year because they are afraid of the change in administrations. This includes U.S. citizenship, and work permits. We've very busy right now. We're also getting inquiries about how to renounce U.S. citizenship. Usually they don't wind up going anywhere, but we are getting our share of people wanting to leave the U.S."