Trump's Terrifying Immigration Policy-in-Waiting
Donald Trump and his brain trust want to implement a truly terrifying set of immigration policies if he regains office in 2025. Can we stop him?
Frequent readers of this newsletter know that I have never been a fan of Cosplay Tough Guy and Texas Governor Greg Abbott, and especially not of the gigantic waste of taxpayer dollars known as Operation Lone Star.
Abbott is doubling down on his “border security” shtick but also, via his endorsement of 2024 presidential candidate Donald Trump, signing off on an expansive and vicious anti-immigrant program Trump plans to implement if he is given a second term. Today, we’re looking at Trump’s plans in some detail and what they might mean for Texas and the nation.
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Tuesday, November 28, 2023, 5:00 p.m.
On Sunday the 19th, Greg Abbott showed up at the border with Four-Time Indicted former president Donald Trump, who is currently the slight favorite to be the 47th President of These Here United States. They were in Edinburg to talk about their mutual favorite obsession: the invasion of America by brown-skinned and unwashed hordes from all over the world.
(Governor Greg Abbott and former president Donald Trump in Edinburg, Texas, November 19, 2023. Photo: Eric Gay/Associated Press)
The two served some Thanksgiving chow to Border Patrol personnel, state guard forces, and DPS troopers stuck there over the holiday. Abbott took the occasion not just to decry the Biden Administration’s lackadaisical approach to border security, but to endorse Trump’s presidential ambitions: “I’m here today to officially proclaim my endorsement for Donald J. Trump to be president again.”
Vice President Abbott?
Abbott’s endorsement was no surprise. What was surprising is the vice-presidential speculation it triggered. Abbott has been working the refs to make sure he’s viewed as V.P. timber. The Houston Chronicle reported last week that Trump’s appearance at the border was Abbott’s “audition.” (The article also pointed out that full implementation of the Trump/Abbott immigration agenda would be disastrous for the American economy.) Axios Austin followed up with a piece quoting several Texas political prognosticators about Abbott’s chances; their analysis was the subject of a Texas Standard segment yesterday. Texas Monthly also weighed in, dissing Abbott’s chances because of Trump’s distaste for the sick and disabled.
Whatever Abbott’s V.P. chances (personally, I put them at zero) there’s no doubt that Trump, Abbott and a significant portion of the GOP electorate see immigration as a winning issue for 2024.
But what exactly does Trump want to do about immigration? Unfortunately, he has been very clear about his plans. As detailed in reporting by the New York Times and other sources, he is proposing “an extreme expansion of his first-term crackdown on immigration if he returns to power in 2025.”
Shutting off travel and immigration
Ban travel from certain Muslim countries, and expand it to include other “troubled” countries (e.g., Venezuela)
Implement “ideological screening” for anyone seeking to immigrate to the U.S., excluding “Christian-hating communists and Marxists” and “dangerous lunatics, haters, bigots and maniacs.”
Disqualify anyone who opposes Israel in its current conflict: “If you empathize with radical Islamic terrorists and extremists, you’re disqualified. If you want to abolish the state of Israel, you’re disqualified. If you support Hamas or any ideology that’s having to do with that or any of the other really sick thoughts that go through people’s minds — very dangerous thoughts — you’re disqualified.”
Suspend refugee admissions. Trump had cut them from 110,000 in the last year of Obama’s presidency down to 15,000 in the last year of his. He plans an even greater reduction in the future.
Expand programs requiring asylum seekers to wait in other countries while processing their asylum claims.
Re-invoke Title 42 to refuse, on public health grounds, to hear asylum claims by anyone arriving at the Mexico-U.S. border.
Complete a wall separating the southern border from Mexico.
(Stephen Miller. Would you buy a used immigration policy from this man? Photo: Leah Millis / Reuters file)
Deporting undocumented immigrants
Trump and his policy wonks – including the odious Sith Lord Stephen Miller – don’t just plan to restrict new immigration. They want to “round up undocumented people already in the United States on a vast scale and detain them in sprawling camps while they wait to be expelled.” Here’s the deets:
Expand “expedited removal,” a procedure that allows U.S. CBP officials to rapidly deport noncitizens who are undocumented or who have committed misrepresentation or fraud. Noncitizens are deported without due process or right of appeal.
Under authority of the 1789 Alien Enemies Act, arrest and summarily deport immigrants with criminal records or suspected ties to gangs, drugs cartels, or human trafficking.
Expand workplace raids conducted by ICE to sweep up more undocumented immigrants and place them in large “holding centers” as their deportations are processed. Such deportation camps would likely be built by the military in Texas.
End DACA, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program announced by President Obama in 2012. Under the program, children brought illegally to the country by their parents would be able to gain citizenship upon completion of certain requirements. Trump will move to deport these young people.
End birthright citizenship under the Fourteenth Amendment, which he believes he could do by executive order.
Trump’s agenda represents an immense and restrictive re-do of American immigration policy, the most punitive since “Operation Wetback” during the Eisenhower Administration. (For a narrative of that program’s impact on Texas, check out this summary from the Texas State Historical Association.)
In addition to the economic havoc these policies would cause. Trump’s plans would repudiate America’s longstanding support of immigration to renew and energize our country, both socially and economically.
Concluding Thoughts
Donald Trump’s immigration proposals are truly heinous and represent an extreme retrenchment of American policy. Unfortunately, the political winds for such dramatic change are at his back. Surveys show voters are concerned about immigration as an issue, and view Trump as more capable on it than President Biden. An October Reuters/Ipsos poll found that “Biden approval near lowest of his term as immigration concerns rise.” A Newsweek poll last summer found that 62% of Americans think the U.S. does not have control over its own borders.
Although Miller and other Trump advisers claim there’s statutory authority for all these policies, they would certainly be subject to legal challenge. During his first term, Trump did not necessarily fare well with the courts, but he now has plenty of district and appellate judges whom he appointed and from whom he can hope for a better outcome.
Overall, the better course for our country is to deny Trump the opportunity to implement these draconian, nativist policies by denying him a second term as president. Let’s hope the voters have the wisdom to do just that.
“Sweet fancy Moses” … courtesy of the Bell Bros., the greatest dance montage in the history of the world.
Well done!
Trump is not a man of ideas but Miller and Bannon are! They are both twisted, with Miller in the lead!
Anyone who doubts the dangers of these men need to do a little research! Miller and Bannon are two of the most dangerous people to this Country, Miller is a Sociopath who enjoys being cruel!, he has been this way most of his life! Miller was Bannons protege at Brietbart prior to WH!
Bannon wants to destroy everything in his path!
The Eisenhower move to create "Operation Wetback" was a bit of a geopolitical stab the back. While hundreds of thousands of American laborers went overseas for WWII, Mexico provided temporary workers to take their place on this side of the river in the Bracero Program. Not too many years later, we launch operation "wetback." I often wonder why Mexico even acknowledges our existence. We use the drugs but blame them for the problem of cartels. We need cheap labor but blame them for coming here to do jobs that Americans won't touch. We call them our biggest trading partner but empower a political lunatic who talks about invading south of the border.