How can Trump make mass deportation work?

Donald J. Trump has a mandate for action, and if Republicans capture the House, in addition to the Senate it now has, he will have a pretty free hand to act. Even CNN’s Van Jones called Trump’s an “avalanche victory.”

He will be able to act on illegal immigration, which numbers as many as 25 million, according to CNN’s Jake Tapper, jacking the number up to a level used by Tucker Carlson. But when Carlson did it, it was a fear tactic.

The truth is, we don’t know (or we won’t be told) the actual number, other than it is more than 10 million.

Trump says he wants to expel them all. 

He can’t.

It’s not impossible. It is highly impractical. It would require a vast army to find and arrest 10 million illegals, and a vast city to hold them while they await a hearing, to which they are entitled. That would require an army of immigration judges.

(Assuming Republicans do not change the law.)

Vice President-elect JD Vance says we can deport 1 million a year. I think that is wildly optimistic, but that would result in only 4 million during Trump’s four-year term. Not even half of the 10 million.

And I’m not even going to get into the law suits opponents will throw in his way.

Trump has offered no specifics on the mass deportation. There is no written plan, but this is what he told “60 Minutes”: “Let me tell you what it’s not going to be. First, it’s not going to be a mass sweep of neighborhoods. It’s not going to be building concentration camps. I’ve read it all. It’s ridiculous.”

How can you deport 10 million people without some kind of a mass sweep? Logically, you would start with workplace roundups at employers known for hiring illegals. We need a law to imprison, not just fine, such employers, because hiring illegals is illegal. Would Trump jail fellow capitalists?

I have been writing about illegal immigration for almost 20 years, and way back then a large majority of Americans, about two-thirds, opposed mass deportation.

They no longer do.

A recent ScrippsNews/Ipsos poll https://scripps.com/press-releases/scripps-news-ipsos-poll-reveals-a-majority-of-americans-support-mass-deportation-of-undocumented-immigrants/ found that 54% of Americans, including 25% of Democrats, approve of mass deportation. 

An earlier poll by left-leaning Axios https://www.axios.com/2024/04/25/trump-biden-americans-illegal-immigration-poll found about the same. That is almost a complete reversal from a decade earlier. 

An overwhelming majority, including 55% of Democrats, support restrictions on asylum.

A Harvard/Harris poll in 2017 https://harvardharrispoll.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Harvard-Harris-Poll-Deck-2.28.17-FINAL-1.pdf found that 80% of Americans oppose Sanctuary Cities. I doubt that number has decreased in the past few years.

Of course, some pro-illegal outlets dispute the findings. Let’s not argue over that. Let’s agree a large percentage of Americans approve, so that we can concentrate on how it would work, the arguments pro and con.

For background, let’s also agree the explosion of illegals can be laid at the feet of Joe Biden, whose pre-election remarks, such as “you should come,” and whose post-election actions, created it. 

Pre-election, he self-righteously told the world  America welcomes immigrants. He stupidly forgot to say America welcomes legal immigrants. By the time the caravans — denied early on by most of the liberal media — began arriving, wearing T-shirts appealing to Biden, it was too late, and his pleas to illegals not to come were ignored.

Firm  border enforcement was created by Barack Obama, derisively called the “great deporter” by Open Border types. His work was continued by Trump, and then reversed by Biden. Look at the illegal explosion as soon as Biden took office. That he created the mess is indisputable.

As suggested above, border enforcement is not a right-wing issue, unless you think Obama is an agent of the right. 

Here https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4719495/user-clip-barack-obama-illegal-immigration he talks about the need for enforcing the law.

Enforcing the law should not be controversial, nor is it racist.

Now for some Q and A.

What is the justification for deportation?

To uphold the law, and to protect the border.

Can we physically deport 10 million+ illegals?

For reasons explained above, we can’t in Trump’s four-year term. However, we can start with national security risks, illegals convicted of felonies in their home country, or ours. There should be little opposition by rational people to removing them. 

We will have to separate families?

The native-born children  of illegals are U.S. citizens. They can go with their parents, or remain here with legal immigrant family members. The family will make that choice. Every time a U.S. criminal is sent to jail, he is being “separated” from his family, and that “separation” is not a valid argument against incarceration.

Will deporting illegals harm the U.S. economy?

Only if it is immediate and mass, and that is unlikely. 

What are the positive outcomes of mass deportation?

The very act of beginning to deport illegals sends the strongest possible message to others not to come here illegally. It would also create job opportunities for legal immigrants, and raise wages because many illegals accept less than legal wages. It would enhance national security.

What are the negative outcomes of mass deportation?

It would cost hundreds of billions to arrest, detain, and adjudicate millions of people. It could harm the economy.

What about people who came here illegally, but who have behaved themselves?

They would be the last people arrested, but their current good behavior doesn’t erase their past illegal entry. If they are employed, that is another violation of U.S. law. 

Should there be exceptions to deportation?

Yes, the DACA people, who were brought here as children by their parents. They should be allowed to stay. As for the parents, I have proposed a statute of limitations on illegal entry, as we have a five-year statute of limitations on many crimes. Long-term residents with clean records would be allowed to stay. They would be offered a path to legalization, but not to citizenship. If they are barred from citizenship and voting, they cease to be political footballs.

Have you no humanity?

Yes, I do. But first, we are a nation. A nation has defined and defensible borders.

We are in a position to help some people, but not all. That would be impossible. The numbers are too great.

There are specific rules determining asylum status. https://stubykofsky.com/the-big-fat-asylum-fraud/ The vast majority of illegals do not qualify, and they know it.

 People who seek refuge here must do what refugees have always done — fill out papers, take a number and wait their turn. 

The tidal wave of illegals over the Biden term has been a disaster. Just ask New York Mayor Eric Adams. He once bragged about New York being a Sanctuary City. He now wails he leads a broke city, spending billions to feed and shelter thousands of uninvited guests.

Trump can’t end it. But he can start the stop.