President Elect Donald Trump won the 2016 election primarily on one issue: immigration. Sure, there were other issues that were important to voters, such as trade, repealing Obamacare, jobs and the economy, among others. Additionally, sending a non-politician, an outsider, a businessman to the White House certainly had major appeal. But it was the issue of immigration that catapulted his campaign and drove him all the way to victory.
Now that he is headed for the White House, how will he achieve what the majority of the country wants? How and when will he secure our borders, on all sides? How and when will he begin the process of deporting illegal aliens? How and when will he go about defunding sanctuary cities? How will he deal with the companies that hire illegal aliens? In short, what will immigration policy in a Trump administration look like?
Past efforts to tackle this problem by past Congresses have been fruitless. Why? Because amnesty has usually been attached to any proposed legislation. They package it with the euphemistic title of Comprehensive Immigration Reform. I’ve been saying for years that we don’t need “Comprehensive Immigration Reform.” We need “Comprehensive Immigration Enforcement.” Reform implies that the law needs to be changed and the system needs to be transformed into something different.
Which begs the question: Is there really something wrong with our immigration system?
No. There is only something wrong with the way we enforce our immigration laws (or don’t enforce them). Whenever immigration reform is on the table legislatively and there’s a national discussion about it at the political level it’s utterly insulting. It is a mockery and I’m offended that our so-called leaders choose to sell out 1) our heroes who fought for this not to happen, 2) those who spent the time and money to come here legally because they wanted to be Americans, and 3) all of us who have been paying taxes our entire adult lives. Yes, they tried to sell us out and in essence said, “Your concerns don’t matter. It’s these 20-30 million illegals who we care more about.”
A comprehensive immigration reform law isn’t even a law. It’s not a law that punishes bad behavior; it’s a law that rewards it. It doesn’t keep people from entering our country illegally, it allows it. What sense does this make? The only law we need where immigration is concerned is one that mandates that we secure the border, all U.S. borders, Canadian and Mexican.
Shame on all of the politicians who lent their support and voted for any amnesty plan disguised as “reform.” Let’s make Comprehensive Immigration Enforcement the hallmark achievement of the Trump administration, which would say that all illegal aliens need to be repatriated to their home countries. Their offspring? Well, it’s unfortunate, but I’m afraid they must learn to accept that their parents did a very bad thing to them. They cheated America, put their children in jeopardy and need to be punished.
And finally, maybe Comprehensive Immigration Enforcement means working with other countries to take back their citizens and charge fines for the inconvenience Americans have suffered. Maybe then this whole mess will be on a course toward being resolved. When people know that America is going to be serious about illegal immigration, they won’t be so quick to challenge us.
Tom Folden is a political strategist, conservative thinker, and Editor of RightWingWriter.com, a website for conservative viewpoints. An original Tea Party activist, he takes part in pro-America rallies when his time permits. He is also a singer/songwriter and recording artist. For interviews and/or appearances, please contact him at spencergroup@hotmail.com.