In times where there is uncertainty, I like to pay attention to what is being done and said (or not said) by the main stream media. Right now, there are two things I am noticing:
1. Billionaires, businesses, NGOs, etc. screaming and shitting themselves about fighting against deportations. If there wasn't a real threat of Trump sending illegals packing and causing businesses to lose their cheap slave labor, why would these people waste money, effort, and time fighting so hard against it? I guess some could argue that they're faking urgency in order to fund raise, but they aren't just trying to raise money through fearmongering, they are actively trying to get people out protesting. They are funding disruptions and trying hard (but failing) to change the narrative. Why? In this economy, it makes no financial sense to spend so much money fighting this, not unless there is a legit fear that you're about to go bankrupt once the slaves get sent home.
2. Stephen Miller has become the #1 enemy in main stream media. Yes, people are still frothing at the mouth at Trump, but the new narrative is now that Trump is just a puppet being controlled by the REAL Hitler 2.0, Stephen Miller. I have heard and read non-stop bashing of Stephen Miller, and the attacks are ramping up, to the point where it honest to God feels like they are trying to push someone into assassinating him. Everyone jokes that he is a total sperg and his hyper focus interest is kicking illegals to the curb, but it's not really a joke, and it seems that The Powers That Be agree. They appear to find him to be a credible threat to their bottom line that they're wasting millions of dollars trying to smear him and put a target on his head.
Maybe there are other explanations for the points above, but to me it reads as Trump is serious about mass deportations and the elite class is losing their collective shit over it. If Trump wasn't serious then those people wouldn't do anything other than the typical performative outrage. Instead, they're throwing everything that can at Trump and anyone else that's aiding in his agenda.
