Trump has a mandate on the border and to deport criminals. What else? Then what?

Trump’s Mass Deportation Promise

Let’s discuss the WSJ article Trump’s Mass Deportation Promise. My comments are in square brackets. Emphasis also mine.

Donald Trump won a second term in the White House by pledging to secure the U.S.-Mexico border, and that includes sending a clear deterrent message to migrants before he’s sworn in again on Jan. 20. Last week a caravan of about 3,000 people set out toward the U.S. from near the Guatemala border, according to Reuters, but many of them dispersed after Mr. Trump’s victory. [And that’s a major victory for Trump right off the bat]

Mr. Trump announced late Sunday that Tom Homan, his former acting head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, has agreed to be his new border czar. Mr. Homan will be “in charge of our Nation’s Borders,” plus “all Deportation of Illegal Aliens back to their Country of Origin,” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social. Media leaks Monday said Stephen Miller, who advised Mr. Trump on immigration policy in the first term, is likely to be White House deputy chief of staff for policy.

In short order, Mr. Trump will move to reinstate the border policies of his first term, such as Remain in Mexico, which seemed to work. Under that deal, migrants claiming asylum in the U.S. were sent back to Mexico while their cases were pending, which might take months or more. The idea was to break the incentives to game the system. Given the backlog of asylum cases, letting migrants into the U.S. while they wait is an enticement to come. [Another victory]

The political rub may be Mr. Trump’s campaign promise to conduct “the largest deportation operation in the history of our country.” How it goes depends on what Mr. Trump means. Speaking Monday on Fox News, Mr. Homan said the priority will be “public-safety threats and national-security threats,” as well as migrants who “had due process” and “their federal judge said ‘you must go home,’ and they didn’t.” [Again no disagreement]

And add what Mr. Homan told “60 Minutes” last month. “It’s not going to be a mass sweep of neighborhoods,” he said. “It’s not going to be building concentration camps. I’ve read it all. It’s ridiculous.” [Bingo! a mass sweep is not the right idea]

Instead he said Mr. Trump’s plan would involve “targeted arrests,” and eventually “worksite enforcement operations.” If officers making an arrest also find an undocumented grandma in the house, will they detain her? “It depends,” Mr. Homan said. “Let the judge decide.” [I 100% endorse targeted arrests. As for workforce arrests, I think we need to discuss. If someone has been here a while, with a job, and are productive members of society, it would be idiotic to send them home unless the goal is more inflation and workforce shortages]

When he visited the Journal recently, we asked about aliens who have been here for years, who might have U.S. citizen spouses and children. His response was that he wanted to help them.

“We have a lot of good people in this country, and we have to do something about it,” Mr. Trump said. “This has been going on for a long time. It’s a complicated subject.” He declined to specify whom he’d deport: “I don’t want to go too much into clarification, because the nicer I become, the more people that come over illegally.” Yet after stringent talk about deterrence, he ended with nuance: “There are some human questions that get in the way of being perfect, and we have to have the heart, too.” [This is a more pragmatic, rational Trump, and I hope we see more of this.]

Even as Mr. Biden’s failures turned the public against immigration, Gallup this summer said 81% of Americans want a path to citizenship for those “brought to the U.S. illegally as children.” That included 64% of Republicans. [I side with the majority]

[The WSJ concludes, and I agree] Mr. Trump can do much on immigration by executive action, but a durable solution needs legislation. Maybe Democrats, after the electoral haymaker they got last week, will be willing to compromise more than they have in the past. Mr. Trump missed a chance for a bipartisan deal in 2018 to permanently change the border incentives on asylum and more. He’ll have a narrow window again next year, if he’s willing and has the heart.

The New Home for Hispanics is the Republican Party

On November 7, I reported The New Home for Hispanics is the Republican Party

Please click on the above link and play the PBS video interview of Republican Florida rep. Maria Salazar on Hispanics, Trump, and deportations.

She is author of the The Dignity Act

Here’s  The Dignity Act Bill Summary

Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Florida) introduced the Dignity Act (H.R. 3599) in the U.S. House of Representatives on May 23, 2023, a bipartisan effort to strengthen border security in the United States, provide undocumented individuals with an opportunity to obtain legal status if they meet certain requirements, and update aspects of the U.S. legal immigration system. Additional co-sponsors include Reps. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas), Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-Oregon), Mike Lawler (R-New York), and Jennifer Gonzalez-Colon (R-Puerto Rico).

This bipartisan effort comes as new polling indicates that more than 4 in 5 Americans – including 80 percent of Republican registered voters – support Republicans and Democrats working together on immigration reforms that address labor shortages and inflation, and protect people already in the U.S. and contributing to their communities. During the rollout of the legislation, Rep. Salazar indicated that the bill is intended to follow the biblical principles of Dignity and Redemption. The bill also aims to focus on modernizing America’s immigration system to meet the country’s economic needs and to do so in a manner that supports American workers. The bill’s title stands for ‘‘Dignity for Immigrants while Guarding our Nation to Ignite and Deliver the American Dream Act of 2023’’ or the ‘‘DIGNIDAD (Dignity) Act of 2023.’’

The bill requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to deploy physical barriers, tactical infrastructure, technology, and personnel along the border where it is most effective. Specifically, it authorizes at least $35 billion in funding to enhance and improve infrastructure and technology between and at ports of entry. It also reforms the U.S. asylum system to make a final determination of asylum eligibility for most asylum seekers at the border within 60 days.

• Initial Screening (First 15 Days). Under the bill, migrants would receive a 72-hour rest period. After that, HC staff would provide an initial screening within 15 days. Staff will conduct criminal background checks, analyze biometric data, verify identification, conduct medical assessments, screen for human trafficking victims, and perform an initial credible fear interview.
  • Migrants unable to establish a credible fear during an initial screening are subject to expedited removal from the U.S.

The bill incorporates a version of the Dream Act, which allows young undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children and have lived in the U.S. for most of their lives to obtain legal status. This section could allow up to 1.9 million Dreamers, including the roughly 600,000 DACA recipients, to live and work in the U.S.

I endorse the Dignity Act. It is exceptionally balanced, well thought out, and bipartisan. But it’s not what Trump promised.

Fortunately, it’s how Trump sounds now.

Thank you Florida rep. Maria Salazar. She strongly supports Trump.

More By This Author: