The president took to Twitter last night and casually mentioned that ICE would “begin the process of removing” millions of illegal aliens starting next week.
Next week ICE will begin the process of removing the millions of illegal aliens who have illicitly found their way into the United States. They will be removed as fast as they come in. Mexico, using their strong immigration laws, is doing a very good job of stopping people…….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 18, 2019
Before the left gets its nose out of joint and the right swoons with ecstasy, two things should be kept in mind:
- There are no funds allocated — or likely to be allocated — by Congress for such a massive effort
- Besides 7-year-old kids, does anyone believe anything Donald Trump says anymore?
His cabinet certainly doesn’t.
Mark Morgan, the director of the agency, did not announce any new initiatives during his stop in Louisville on Sunday, where he spoke about the humanitarian and national security crisis at the border.
ICE did not immediately respond to an email from Fox News for comment.
An administration official said that the new effort would focus on the more than 1 million people who have been issued final deportation orders by federal judges but remain at large in the country.
“Countless illegal aliens not only violate our borders but then break the law all over again by skipping their court hearings and absconding from federal proceedings. These runaway aliens lodge phony asylum claims only to be no-shows at court and are ordered removed in absentia,” the official said. “… These judicial removal orders were secured at great time and expense, and yet illegal aliens not only refuse to appear in court, they often obtain fraudulent identities, collect federal welfare, and illegally work in the United States. Enforcing these final judicial orders is a top priority for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.”
Some in Trump’s administration believe that decisive shows of force — like mass arrests — can serve as effective deterrents, sending a message to those considering making the journey to the U.S. that it’s not worth coming.
I’m sure informing immigration enforcement officials of the plan slipped Trump’s mind at the last cabinet meeting.
Obviously, this “plan” is a campaign ploy. Like Trump’s “wall,” which keeps getting smaller every time he talks about it, a deportation plan that would send millions of people to their home countries is solely designed to excite his excitable base of support. There isn’t nearly enough money and nowhere near enough ICE agents, to even begin to deport illegals in the numbers Trump mentions.
But truth is a commodity to our president, to be bought and sold like a Park Avenue brownstone. At this point, Trump is selling. How many voters will actually buy into this fantasy plan?
Very possibly, enough to get him re-elected.
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