Trump returns to the US-Mexico border where he presents a set of tough proposals on immigration
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Donald Trump He will return to the US-Mexico border for a visit on Sunday as part of his promotion of a hardline approach Migration agenda This would be far more expansive than the policies he pursued during his first term as president.
Trump is scheduled to deliver a speech in Edinburg, Texas, after serving meals to National Guard soldiers, troops and others who will be stationed at the border during Thanksgiving. He will be joined by the Republican governor. Greg Abbott, a longtime ally and fellow border hawk, is expected to endorse the front-runner for the 2024 nomination during the visit, according to a person close to Trump who spoke on the condition of anonymity before the official announcement.
Trump has been floating proposals on immigration that would represent a significant escalation of the approach he used in office, drawing alarms from civil rights activists and several court challenges.
“On my first day in the White House, I will end all of the Biden administration’s open borders policy. “I will stop the invasion at our southern border and begin the largest internal deportation in American history,” he said in Iowa on Saturday.
He also wants:
– Reviving and expanding the controversial travel ban, which initially targeted seven Muslim-majority countries. Trump’s initial executive order was resisted all the way to the US Supreme Court, which upheld what Trump complained was a “watered-down” version that included North Korean travelers and some Venezuelan officials.
– Initiate a new “ideological screening” of all immigrants, aiming to prevent “Christian-hating communists and Marxists” and “dangerous lunatics, haters, fanatics, and lunatics” from entering the United States. “Those who come to our country and join it must love our country,” he said.
– Except for those who support Hamas. “If you sympathize with terrorists and radical Islamic extremists, you’re disqualified,” Trump says. “If you want to abolish the State of Israel, you are disqualified. If you support Hamas or any ideology related to that or any of the other sick ideas that are in people’s minds — very dangerous ideas — then you are disqualified.”
– Deporting immigrants living in the country who have “jihadist sympathizers” and sending immigration agents to “pro-jihadist demonstrations” to identify violators. It would target foreign nationals on campus and revoke student visas for those who express anti-American or anti-Semitic views.
– Activate the Alien Enemies Act to remove all known or suspected gang members and drug traffickers from the United States. This law was used to justify concentration camps in World War II. It allows the president to unilaterally detain and deport people who are not US citizens.
– Ending the constitutional right to birthright citizenship by signing an executive order on his first day in office that would codify a legally untested reinterpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment. Under his order, children with at least one U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident parent would be eligible for a passport, Social Security number and other benefits.
– End all work permits and cut funding for shelter and transportation for people who are in the country illegally.
– Build more of the wall along the border, crack down on legal asylum seekers, and re-implement measures such as Address 42which allowed Trump to turn away migrants at the US-Mexico border on the grounds of preventing the spread of the coronavirus.
– Lobbying Congress to pass a law mandating the death penalty for anyone caught trafficking women or children.
– Transferring federal law enforcement agents, including FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration personnel, to immigration enforcement, and repositioning thousands of troops currently stationed abroad at the southern border. He said: “Before we defend the borders of foreign countries, we must secure the borders of our country.”
Trump has made frequent trips to the border as a candidate and president. During his 2016 election campaign, he traveled to Laredo, Texas in July 2015 In a visit that highlighted how his views on immigration helped him attract media attention and support from the Republican Party base.
The border has also become a centerpiece of Abbott’s agenda and the subject of an escalating battle with the Biden administration over immigration. The three-term governor approved construction of a new, multibillion-dollar border wall. Approved barbed wire On the banks of the Rio Grande Busing thousands of migrants to Democratic-led cities All over the United States.
Abbott is expected soon to sign what may be one of Texas’ most aggressive measures yet: a law allowing police officers to Arresting immigrants suspected of entering the country illegally Enabling judges to deport them effectively. This measure represents a major challenge to the US government’s authority regarding immigration. She has already been reprimanded by Mexico.
However, the hard right of the Texas GOP has not always embraced Abbott. Trump posted on his social media platform earlier this year that Gov He was “missing in action!” After Republicans voted to impeach Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Trump ally. Abbott was also booed at a 2022 Trump rally.
But Abbott’s moves within the GOP have boosted him with broad support in Texas, where he outperformed tougher Republicans in down-ballots and helped the GOP make decisive inroads with Hispanic voters.
Democrats tried to exploit the trip to portray Trump’s plans as extreme.
“Donald Trump is going after immigrants, our rights, our safety, and our democracy. “This is what was actually on the ballot last year,” Julie Chavez Rodriguez, Biden’s re-election campaign manager, said in a conference call with reporters.
Polls show Many voters are dissatisfied With the Biden administration’s handling of the border.
Marquette Law School poll of registered voters Conducted in late September It gave Trump a 24-point advantage over Biden on handling immigration and border security issues — 52% to 28%.
___ Colvin reported from New York. Associated Press writer Will Weissert in Wilmington, Delaware, contributed to this report.
