For much of the 20th century, social studies textbooks proudly declared that the United States was a melting pot or a mosaic of immigrants. These books almost always included a picture of the Statue of Liberty and the words of Emma Lazarus’ poem engraved on its base: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”

Students today are witnessing an entirely different interpretation of our country’s values as tens of thousands of their immigrant classmates face being returned to the countries their parents escaped from. As 2025 begins, President-elect Donald Trump’s pledge to launch the largest deportation in American history will test our nation’s longstanding commitment to opening our doors to immigrants seeking a better life and test our local communities’ willingness to commit to this new ethos.

Trump’s nominees for the heads of the FBI, Department of Justice, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Department of Defense and “Border Czar” underscore his desire to carry out his promised mass deportation. Each nominee concurs with Trump’s assertion that “millions of illegal immigrants” pose a major threat to our country.

Nevertheless, many commentators are skeptical of Trump’s ability to keep this promise because such a purge would require massive manpower, present daunting logistical challenges, and cost millions of dollars.

Assuming Trump overcomes these obstacles, state and local governments, public schools, churches and hospitals in the Upper Valley will need to wrestle with questions of how to respond to edicts issued by the president.

New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte is on record fully supporting any directives from the president “in order to keep New Hampshire residents safe.” Her support has raised concerns among many state organizations supporting the state’s roughly 82,000 immigrant residents. Given the Legislature’s willingness to spend over $1.4 million to increase security on the northern border and $800,000 to deploy 15 National Guard members to Texas, it is likely they will support whatever action Ayotte recommends.

Vermont Gov. Phil Scott faces a different set of issues. Vermont, which is one of 11 sanctuary states in the country and one of the states that has passed laws that prevent the sharing of resources for immigration enforcement, might resist efforts to deport any immigrants. At this point Scott does not believe Trump’s plans are feasible, he “respects the Office of the President” and feels that the State “will have to move on (and) work with the administration” as they did during Trump’s last term of office. How he might react to edicts from the White House is an open question.

Given the different perspectives of each state’s governor, the reactions of local governments, institutions and school boards are likely to vary widely in our region. Ultimately, before weighing in on whatever recommendations the Trump administration issues, local authorities should consider the profile of immigrants in Vermont and New Hampshire: 50% of immigrants in New Hampshire and 44% in Vermont have college degrees and the 107,000 immigrants in both states have spending power of nearly $4 billion.

Moreover, New Hampshire and Vermont immigrants add to the local and state tax base, paying $262.2 million in state and local taxes New Hampshire and $83.8 million in Vermont. These dollars and cents combined with the sense of decency citizens in Vermont and New Hampshire possess might lead Upper Valley residents down a different path, one that would favor the deliberate adjudication of undocumented immigrants seeking asylum instead of one that seeks their speedy deportation. The path of justice takes time, but it reflects the values most of us learned in school. I hope students are learning those values still.

Wayne Gersen is a retired public school administrator. He lives in Etna.