Published by The Daily Signal
By Hans von Spakovsky
President Donald Trump has kept the promises he made to voters about immigration.
At his direction, the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security have resumed enforcement of our immigration laws. They are going after sanctuary cities that harbor criminal aliens; stepping up removals of illegal aliens; hiring more border agents and immigration judges; intensifying security efforts along the border; ending the unconstitutional DACA program; and restricting the entry of aliens from terrorist safe havens who pose a danger to our national security.
In other words, Trump is faithfully executing the law as written. He is the first president in decades with the political courage to take a needed stand on our illegal immigration problem.
That said, the immigration framework released by the White House last week raises a number of serious questions. For example, the proposed deal would provide amnesty and citizenship to nearly 2 million illegal aliens (and probably more), as well as citizenship to another 4 million aliens who aren’t even in the country yet.
Much to Like in Immigration Framework
Yet there is much good in the framework, too. The president wants a $25 billion “trust fund” for “the border wall system, ports of entry/exit, and northern border improvements and enhancements.”
Although the idea of a “trust fund” sounds good, there really isn’t such a thing under federal law. The only acceptable way of ensuring the funding for enhanced border security that Trump wants (and the country needs) is if Congress provides an immediate appropriation—not just an authorization for future funds—of $25 billion.
If funding is what the White House wants, then that is what it should demand from Congress: an appropriation. And that appropriation needs to also include funds for interior enforcement, not just border security.
The president also wants “hiring and pay reforms to ensure the recruitment and retention of critically-needed personnel,” as well as changes in immigration courts “to improve efficiency and prevent fraud and abuse.” This, too, has policy merit.
He wants to “ensure the prompt removal of illegal border-crossers” and “criminal aliens, gang members, violent offenders, and aggravated felons.” That makes sense.
But to add teeth to that, the White House should insist on legislation that empowers immigration judges to enforce their own removal orders, with the assistance of U.S. marshals. Currently, almost a million unenforced deportation orders have piled up at the Department of Homeland Security.
Lacking in Some Key Areas
One crucial element missing from this framework is something the president himself has talked about: making E-Verify mandatory for employers.
E-Verify is the secure, online federal system employers can use to make sure the workers they hire are citizens or at least legally entitled to work in the U.S. That, along with increased prosecutions of employers who knowingly hire illegal aliens, is required to decrease the employment prospects that attract so many illegals and keep them here.
See the full story here.
Link: http://dailysignal.com/2018/01/30/immigration-legislation-stress-border-security-and-enforcement/
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