Trump is returning to the US-Mexico border as he lays out a set of hard-line immigration proposals
Austin, Texas — AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Donald Trump returns to the U.S.-Mexico border for a visit on Sunday as he promotes a tough immigration agenda that 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 troops, soldiers and others who will be stationed at the border over Thanksgiving. He will be accompanied by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, a longtime ally and fellow border hawk who is expected to support the frontrunner for the 2024 nomination during the visit, according to a person close to Trump who spoke on condition of anonymity to a formal announcement.
Trump has put forward immigration proposals that would mark a dramatic escalation of the approach he took during his term and sparked alarms from civil rights activists and numerous lawsuits.
“On my first day back in the White House, I will end every open borders policy of the Biden administration. I will stop the invasion at our southern border and begin the largest domestic deportation operation in American history,” he said in Iowa on Saturday.
He also wants:
– revive and expand its controversial travel ban, which initially targeted seven Muslim-majority countries. Trump’s initial executive order was fought all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which confirmed that what Trump complained was a “watered down” version that also included travelers from North Korea and some Venezuelan officials.
– begin a new “ideological screening” for all immigrants, aiming to prevent “Christian-hating communists and Marxists” and “dangerous lunatics, haters, bigots and maniacs” from entering the United States. “Those who come to our country and join us should love our country,” he said.
– except those who support Hamas. “If you empathize with radical Islamic terrorists and extremists, you will be disqualified,” Trump said. “If you want to abolish the state of Israel, you are disqualified. If you support Hamas or any ideology related to it, or any of the other really sick thoughts that go through people’s minds – very dangerous thoughts – you are disqualified.”
– deport immigrants living in the country who harbor “jihadist sympathies” and send immigration agents to “pro-jihadist demonstrations” to identify offenders. He would target foreigners on college campuses and revoke the student visas of those who express anti-American or anti-Semitic views.
– invoke the Alien Enemies Act to remove all known or suspected gang members and drug dealers from the United States. That law was used to justify internment camps in World War II. It allows the president to unilaterally detain and deport people who are not U.S. citizens.
– end the constitutional birthright right by signing an executive order on his first day in office that would codify a legally untested reinterpretation of the 14th Amendment. Under his order, only 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 off funding for shelter and transportation for people in the country illegally.
— building more of the wall along the border, cracking down on legal asylum seekers and reimplementing measures like Title 42, which allowed Trump to turn away immigrants at the U.S.-Mexico border on grounds of preventing the spread of COVID-19 .
– pressure Congress to pass a law so that anyone caught trafficking women or children would face the death penalty.
– Transfer federal law enforcement agents, including FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration personnel, to immigration enforcement, and reposition thousands of troops currently stationed abroad at the southern border. “Before we defend the borders of foreign countries, we must secure the borders of our country,” he said.
Trump has made frequent trips to the border as a candidate and president. During his 2016 campaign, he traveled to Laredo, Texas in July 2015 for a visit that highlighted how his views on immigration helped him win media attention and support from the Republican 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 has approved billions of dollars to build new border walls, authorized razor wire on the banks of the Rio Grande and bused thousands of migrants to Democratic-run cities across the United States.
Abbott is expected to soon sign one of Texas’ most aggressive measures yet: a law that would allow police officers to arrest migrants suspected of entering the country illegally and allow judges to effectively deport them. The measure is a dramatic challenge to the U.S. government’s authority on immigration. It has already drawn criticism from Mexico.
Yet the far right of the Texas Republican Party has not always embraced Abbott. Trump posted on his social media platform earlier this year that the governor was “MISSING IN ACTION!” after Republicans voted to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Trump ally. Abbott was also booed at a Trump rally in 2022.
But Abbott’s navigation within the Republican Party has won him broad support in Texas, where he has outperformed stronger Republicans and helped the GOP make crucial gains with Hispanic voters.
Democrats tried to use the trip to portray Trump’s plans as extreme.
“Donald Trump is going after immigrants, our rights, our security and our democracy. And that’s what was actually on the ballot last year,” Julie Chavez Rodriguez, Biden’s re-election campaign manager, said on a conference call with reporters.
Polls show that many voters are unhappy with the Biden administration’s handling of the border.
A Marquette Law School poll of registered voters taken in late September gave Trump a 24-point lead over Biden on addressing 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.