Over the past two weeks, president Trump escalated his assault on the Mexican community and American values after pardoning the racist and criminal Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio and then ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program shortly after.

Although neither DACA recipients or undocumented immigrants are totally comprised of Mexicans, the immigration conundrum in the U.S. is largely yet unfairly seen as a Mexican problem ensuring they shoulder the weight of any immigration issue deemed problematic.

Even before taking office, Trump and many in his administration were more than comfortable to wade in the muck of racist rhetoric, demeaning immigrants, blacks or anyone that stood in the way of preserving a traditional white electorate or — in his eyes — making America great again.

The president’s drive to restrict voting rights and rid the country of brown immigrants is not only due to racism, but also political expediency.

Trump repeatedly shows through action or proclamation that he has little more than contempt for our neighbors south of the border — documented or not.

Arpaio’s pardon was Trump’s symbol to anti-immigration aficionados that despite a tacit condemnation of white supremacy, the commander-in-chief still has their back.

Rescinding DACA was his action to prove that he wasn’t just giving lip service to their cause.

Adding insult to injury, there is now discussion among congressional members suggesting the 800,000 DACA members deportation status could be used as a bargaining chip to pass broader immigration reform.

People are not bargaining chips.

Especially when, for Republicans, immigration reform looks less like a humane pathway to citizenship and more like the actual legislation conservative Senators Tom Cotton of Arkansas and David Perdue of Georgia proposed earlier this year, the Reforming American Immigration for Strong Employment (RAISE) Act.

Introduced in the Senate, the bill seeks to reduce levels of legal immigration to the U.S. by slashing the number of green cards issued in half.

It also removes pathways for siblings and children of citizens and legal residents to apply for permanent lawful residency status in the U.S along with a plethora of other immigration restrictions.

Republicans are essentially trying to hang a flashing neon closed sign on the Statue of Liberty — or a southern border wall.

Advocating leaving the construction of compassionate immigration legislation to house Republicans is condemning Dreamers to walk the proverbial plank — while knowing that they are in shark infested waters.

Just like when fighting to save the Affordable Care Act, Americans need to be vocal, especially when, for good reason, many people most adversely affected by rescinding of DACA may feel safer in the shadows rather than subjecting themselves to police harassment while marching in the street.

Currently, 16 progressive thinking state attorneys general are filing suit in New York federal court to stop Trump’s move to end the DACA. The group is using the same technique that was used in halting the Muslim ban, claiming the president’s motivation was to exclude a specific religion or race of people.

The lawyers argue that Trump has repeatedly singled out Mexicans during his campaign and his time in office. From baselessly questioning the integrity of a Mexican-American judge to disparaging regular immigrants as rapists and bad people, Trump seems to go out of his way to denigrate Mexicans.

If the lawsuit worked to slow the Muslim ban, hopefully it will work for DACA.