IMMIGRATION REFORM THAT WILL MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN

donaldjtrump.com ^ | Trump Position Statement on Immigration

[Jim Robinson]

IMMIGRATION REFORM THAT WILL MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN

The three core principles of Donald J. Trump's immigration plan

When politicians talk about "immigration reform" they mean: amnesty, cheap labor and open borders. The Schumer-Rubio immigration bill was nothing more than a giveaway to the corporate patrons who run both parties.

Real immigration reform puts the needs of working people first -- not wealthy globetrotting donors. We are the only country in the world whose immigration system puts the needs of other nations ahead of our own. That must change. Here are the three core principles of real immigration reform:

1. A nation without borders is not a nation. There must be a wall across the southern border.

2. A nation without laws is not a nation. Laws passed in accordance with our Constitutional system of government must be enforced.

3. A nation that does not serve its own citizens is not a nation. Any immigration plan must improve jobs, wages and security for all Americans.

Make Mexico Pay For The Wall

For many years, Mexico's leaders have been taking advantage of the United States by using illegal immigration to export the crime and poverty in their own country (as well as in other Latin American countries). They have even published pamphlets on how to illegally immigrate to the United States. The costs for the United States have been extraordinary: U.S. taxpayers have been asked to pick up hundreds of billions in healthcare costs, housing costs, education costs, welfare costs, etc. Indeed, the annual cost of free tax credits alone paid to illegal immigrants quadrupled to $4.2 billion in 2011. The effects on jobseekers have also been disastrous, and black Americans have been particularly harmed.

The impact in terms of crime has been tragic. In recent weeks, the headlines have been covered with cases of criminals who crossed our border illegally only to go on to commit horrific crimes against Americans. Most recently, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, with a long arrest record, is charged with breaking into a 64 year-old woman's home, crushing her skull and eye sockets with a hammer, raping her, and murdering her. The Police Chief in Santa Maria says the "blood trail" leads straight to Washington.

In 2011, the Government Accountability Office found that there were a shocking 3 million arrests attached to the incarcerated alien population, including tens of thousands of violent beatings, rapes and murders.

Meanwhile, Mexico continues to make billions on not only our bad trade deals but also relies heavily on the billions of dollars in remittances sent from illegal immigrants in the United States back to Mexico ($22 billion in 2013 alone).

In short, the Mexican government has taken the United States to the cleaners. They are responsible for this problem, and they must help pay to clean it up.

The cost of building a permanent border wall pales mightily in comparison to what American taxpayers spend every single year on dealing with the fallout of illegal immigration on their communities, schools and unemployment offices.

Mexico must pay for the wall and, until they do, the United States will, among other things: impound all remittance payments derived from illegal wages; increase fees on all temporary visas issued to Mexican CEOs and diplomats (and if necessary cancel them); increase fees on all border crossing cards -- of which we issue about 1 million to Mexican nationals each year (a major source of visa overstays); increase fees on all NAFTA worker visas from Mexico (another major source of overstays); and increase fees at ports of entry to the United States from Mexico [Tariffs and foreign aid cuts are also options]. We will not be taken advantage of anymore.

Defend The Laws And Constitution Of The United States

America will only be great as long as America remains a nation of laws that lives according to the Constitution. No one is above the law. The following steps will return to the American people the safety of their laws, which politicians have stolen from them:

Triple the number of ICE officers. As the President of the ICE Officers' Council explained in Congressional testimony: "Only approximately 5,000 officers and agents within ICE perform the lion's share of ICE's immigration mission...Compare that to the Los Angeles Police Department at approximately 10,000 officers. Approximately 5,000 officers in ICE cover 50 states, Puerto Rico and Guam, and are attempting to enforce immigration law against 11 million illegal aliens already in the interior of the United States. Since 9-11, the U.S. Border Patrol has tripled in size, while ICE's immigration enforcement arm, Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), has remained at relatively the same size." This will be funded by accepting the recommendation of the Inspector General for Tax Administration and eliminating tax credit payments to illegal immigrants.

Nationwide e-verify. This simple measure will protect jobs for unemployed Americans.

Mandatory return of all criminal aliens. The Obama Administration has released 76,000 aliens from its custody with criminal convictions since 2013 alone. All criminal aliens must be returned to their home countries, a process which can be aided by canceling any visas to foreign countries which will not accept their own criminals, and making it a separate and additional crime to commit an offense while here illegally.

Detention--not catch-and-release. Illegal aliens apprehended crossing the border must be detained until they are sent home, no more catch-and-release.

Defund sanctuary cities. Cut-off federal grants to any city which refuses to cooperate with federal law enforcement.

Enhanced penalties for overstaying a visa. Millions of people come to the United States on temporary visas but refuse to leave, without consequence. This is a threat to national security. Individuals who refuse to leave at the time their visa expires should be subject to criminal penalties; this will also help give local jurisdictions the power to hold visa overstays until federal authorities arrive. Completion of a visa tracking system -- required by law but blocked by lobbyists -- will be necessary as well.

Cooperate with local gang task forces. ICE officers should accompany local police departments conducting raids of violent street gangs like MS-13 and the 18th street gang, which have terrorized the country. All illegal aliens in gangs should be apprehended and deported. Again, quoting Chris Crane: "ICE Officers and Agents are forced to apply the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Directive, not to children in schools, but to adult inmates in jails. If an illegal-alien inmate simply claims eligibility, ICE is forced to release the alien back into the community. This includes serious criminals who have committed felonies, who have assaulted officers, and who prey on children...ICE officers should be required to place detainers on every illegal alien they encounter in jails and prisons, since these aliens not only violated immigration laws, but then went on to engage in activities that led to their arrest by police; ICE officers should be required to issue Notices to Appear to all illegal aliens with criminal convictions, DUI convictions, or a gang affiliation; ICE should be working with any state or local drug or gang task force that asks for such assistance."

End birthright citizenship. This remains the biggest magnet for illegal immigration. By a 2:1 margin, voters say it's the wrong policy, including Harry Reid who said "no sane country" would give automatic citizenship to the children of illegal immigrants.

Put American Workers First

Decades of disastrous trade deals and immigration policies have destroyed our middle class. Today, nearly 40% of black teenagers are unemployed. Nearly 30% of Hispanic teenagers are unemployed. For black Americans without high school diplomas, the bottom has fallen out: more than 70% were employed in 1960, compared to less than 40% in 2000. Across the economy, the percentage of adults in the labor force has collapsed to a level not experienced in generations. As CBS news wrote in a piece entitled "America's incredible shrinking middle class": "If the middle-class is the economic backbone of America, then the country is developing osteoporosis."

The influx of foreign workers holds down salaries, keeps unemployment high, and makes it difficult for poor and working class Americans -- including immigrants themselves and their children -- to earn a middle class wage. Nearly half of all immigrants and their US-born children currently live in or near poverty, including more than 60 percent of Hispanic immigrants. Every year, we voluntarily admit another 2 million new immigrants, guest workers, refugees, and dependents, growing our existing all-time historic record population of 42 million immigrants. We need to control the admission of new low-earning workers in order to: help wages grow, get teenagers back to work, aid minorities' rise into the middle class, help schools and communities falling behind, and to ensure our immigrant members of the national family become part of the American dream.

Additionally, we need to stop giving legal immigrant visas to people bent on causing us harm. From the 9/11 hijackers, to the Boston Bombers, and many others, our immigration system is being used to attack us. The President of the immigration caseworkers union declared in a statement on ISIS: "We've become the visa clearinghouse for the world."

Here are some additional specific policy proposals for long-term reform:

Increase prevailing wage for H-1Bs. We graduate two times more Americans with STEM degrees each year than find STEM jobs, yet as much as two-thirds of entry-level hiring for IT jobs is accomplished through the H-1B program. More than half of H-1B visas are issued for the program's lowest allowable wage level, and more than eighty percent for its bottom two. Raising the prevailing wage paid to H-1Bs will force companies to give these coveted entry-level jobs to the existing domestic pool of unemployed native and immigrant workers in the U.S., instead of flying in cheaper workers from overseas. This will improve the number of black, Hispanic and female workers in Silicon Valley who have been passed over in favor of the H-1B program. Mark Zuckerberg's personal Senator, Marco Rubio, has a bill to triple H-1Bs that would decimate women and minorities.

Requirement to hire American workers first. Too many visas, like the H-1B, have no such requirement. In the year 2015, with 92 million Americans outside the workforce and incomes collapsing, we need companies to hire from the domestic pool of unemployed. Petitions for workers should be mailed to the unemployment office, not USCIS.

End welfare abuse. Applicants for entry to the United States should be required to certify that they can pay for their own housing, healthcare and other needs before coming to the U.S.

Jobs program for inner city youth. The J-1 visa jobs program for foreign youth will be terminated and replaced with a resume bank for inner city youth provided to all corporate subscribers to the J-1 visa program.

Refugee program for American children. Increase standards for the admission of refugees and asylum-seekers to crack down on abuses. Use the monies saved on expensive refugee programs to help place American children without parents in safer homes and communities, and to improve community safety in high crime neighborhoods in the United States.

Immigration moderation. Before any new green cards are issued to foreign workers abroad, there will be a pause where employers will have to hire from the domestic pool of unemployed immigrant and native workers. This will help reverse women's plummeting workplace participation rate, grow wages, and allow record immigration levels to subside to more moderate historical averages.

[Windflier]

“This alone will win the election for Trump.”

It’s the very reason he surged straight to the top from the day he announced. It’s also one of the many reasons I switched my candidate preference from Cruz to Trump.

[Jim Robinson]

Yeah, maybe some. But getting rid of millions of criminals and leeches and stopping the incoming flood will be worth it.

[Kid Shelleen]

4. - Stop the bilingual nonsense - If you truly want to be an American citizen make yourself more American instead of making America more like the 3rd world country you are fleeing.

[fedupjohn]

Jim, I wrote that I thought is would start Monday, Damn, he ain’t wasting any time.

Thanks for the post!

[dila813]

“Mexico must pay for the wall and, until they do, the United States will, among other things: impound all remittance payments derived from illegal wages”

I like this idea, How do you think we can do this?

[central_va]

In the mean time while we continue to create Constitutional Utopia™ can we stop the bleeding?

[HiTech RedNeck]

In older times, immigrants were required to know English but then it was laissez-faire as to what they did in their own communities. That’s how we got Chinatowns, etc. But one thing you could count on, in Chinatown they still all understood English.

When English is seen again as an advantage rather than a stigma, it will become popular among immigrants again.

[datura]

Bookmarked- thanks Jim!!!

[Boomer]

I didn’t see a single thing I disagreed with and this is the top issue in my mind.

[Albion Wilde]

Ping!

This list provides two daily round-ups of Trump-related titles on FR,
to cut the clutter and simplify finding your area of interest.
If you are a Trump opponent, you won't be happy here.

To be added to or dropped from this ping list,
post your request on the thread below or freepmail to Albion Wilde.

* * *

Selected Trump articles on FR, with links, from 12:00 AM to 3:30 PM EST, 2/21/16:
IMMIGRATION REFORM THAT WILL MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN [DonaldJTrump web site]
GOP race a three-way contest in New Mexico [Albequerque Journal]
Who's advising Trump on health care? His ideas are as unorthodox as his candidacy. [Politico]
"Face the Nation" Roundtable: After SC, History Is on Trump's Side (Video) [RCP]
China is buying up American companies fast, freaking people out
Matt Drudge Taunts Establishment: GOP Delegate Count Looks Like "Drudge Report Poll Results!"
Trump's South Carolina message to Pope Francis [Judi McLeod]
Lying Hillary now Trump's Quarry
Marco Rubio Laughs off Trump Appearing to Question His Eligibility to Run [ABC News]
Trump win confounds critics who thought gaffes would do him in [Byron York]
Pat Buchanan: Donald Trump's Rise Is Rejection of a Quarter Century of Bush Republicanism
South Carolina Republican Presidential Primary (Voting vs Polls) [RCP comparison charts]
Dear FRiends, We need your continuing support to keep FR going strong. [FReepathon]
Christian Broadcaster David Brody on Trump's Win: Evangelicals Are Tired of Being Political Pawns
They all lie but we support Trump because he'll build the Wall and bomb the HELL out of ISIS [Kevin Collins]
LIVE THREAD:Trump rally in Atlanta 2/21/2016 @ 4:00 (EST) Georgia World Congress Center
Trump rewrites campaign cash rules [Politico]
Trump: 'Part of the Problem with Republicans' Is Opposition to National Health Care
Cruz Robocall Tells South Carolina Voters Confederate Flag is 'Our Flag'
How Donald Trump soared to another dominating victory [Business Insider]
R upert Murdoch: It's 'OVER' for Cruz If Trump Beats Him by 10 Points or Rubio Beats Him [Breitbart]
Post South Carolina Results - "The Looming Inferno" [Sundance]
Donald Trump Has Less than 5% of the Delegates He Needs to Win the Nomination [Red State - TDS alert]
If Being Christian Means Being Pro-Open Borders, I Guess I'm Going To Hell [Doug Giles]
Glenn Beck Responds to South Carolina Primary Results: 'Join Me' in a 'Fast for Ted Cruz'
Evangelicals Give Big South Carolina Kiss To Donald Trump [CBN News]
Trump wins South Carolina primary, opening clear path to nomination [UK Guardian]
Gingrich on Trump: 'Nobody should kid themselves' anymore
Show This Column to Anyone Who Claims Bush Lied about WMDs in Iraq
Election 2016 -- Republican Delegate Count [RCP]
We Desperately Need a Twenty-First Century View of the Economy. [on the issues]
Is Trump now inevitable? - The wins look big but the math is daunting
Karl Rove: Trump Should Be "Worried," He's Peaked [RCP]
Ted Cruz Loses Every County In SC Election-Including the Staunchly Evangelical Counties [Sundance]
Secret anti-Trump donor revealed
Pat Buchanan: Donald Trump Is Right on Trade
Free Republic 2016 Caucus Open Discussion Thread XXXIII
The Liberal Plague on Humanity [U.S. Defense Watch]

[Lazamataz]

People have correctly commented that Donald Trump has changed positions on issues, sometimes often.

However, I can only go by what a man professes he believes (or if he is a legislator, his record).

Donald Trump says a lot of the right things for my two major issues: Illegal immigration and Gun Control, and hasn’t said too much yet about my third major issue: SCOTUS picks.

I have to go by what he says. Trump and Cruz are my two favorites (although Cruz has done some shady campaigning latelty), so I have to vote for whichever one looks most likely to win the general in 2016.

[Dr. Bogus Pachysandra]

A lot longer than 2009. About 1985, a new batch of condos was being built at Greenwood Village in Sagamore Hills Ohio. INS pulled up and virtually everyone ran away. I think the captured something like 52 illegals!

[Lazamataz]

That's where Trump starts to lose me. How am I supposed to believe his promise to build a wall if he attaches a pie in the sky proposal to pay for it? Just promise to build it.

We have nukes. Mexico doesn't.

[JoSixChip]

I saw that, excellent post by JR. But thanks for the ping!

[mbrfl]

Yeah, but Trump is all talk. He never gives any details. /s

[Jim W N]

Loving every minute of it. Trump is hitting all of those areas you mention with force and resolve (and no PC) and I think that’s why we love him. There’s a lot of work to be done and I think Trump is an important step towards the goal of recovery in America.

And I agree that one of the first orders of business is stopping what has almost suddenly become maybe the most imminent threat to our country - ISIS and the Muslim invasion brought on completely unnecessarily by a President who doesn’t seem to care much for the county he was elected to protect as Commander in Chief. After all, providing for the common defense is the first order of business for the US Gov’t.

But somewhere along the line, sooner or later, the states and the American People have got to WANT freedom from dependence, especially financially, on the US Gov’t. That will happen, I believe, upon a change of heart from reliance on man and his government towards trusting and relying on the grace of the God of the Bible.

The irony of a great statesman like Reagan or possibly Trump is they should be trying to work most of the government out of a job. When the US gov’t is basically out of work except for a strong defense (military and intelligence community presence), the rest of America will thrive, prosper, and boom like never before.

Not sure Trump sees himself as the one to basically put out of business the entity he wants to head except for a few key areas. I mean basically the exact opposite of what he’s used to doing. If he sees that less government means more jobs and prosperity for America, then he’ll be OK. But either way, he or the person following him needs to get that. That is why Trump’s VP choice will be so vital.

[Albion Wilde]

I saw that, excellent post by JR. But thanks for the ping!

Do you understand that the ping was the entire MAGA pinglist, not just the article? I need to know whether others are receiving / perceiving their MAGA pings.

[Aleya2Fairlie]

Thank you for posting this. It gives me such hope for America to see Trump’s policies on immigration laid out plainly. I pray that Trump will have a chance to prove himself and his word. I really don’t see how any American who truly loves their country could disagree with Trump’s plans.

I will say, however that even Trump can’t do this alone. He’ll need all the support that Americans can give him if he wins the Presidency. His detractors and enemies won’t just go away if he wins and he has many.

[Spirit of Liberty]

In 2013, the US gave Mexico $51.5 million dollars in foreign aid. Cut it off. In a few years, we would have kept enough to pay for the wall.

[Jim W N]

Yes, very heartwarming to see that. Don’t know the background of his first two marriages, but he seems to be a loving and beloved husband and father. How we need that kind of example.