Putting Americans first: Trump's REAL promises to fight illegal immigration, human trafficking in second term

Trump promised that in a second term, he will end the payout of welfare and governmental benefits to illegal immigrants. He will not allow illegal immigrants to receive food stamps, free healthcare, or welfare checks. He will revoke eligibility for illegal immigrants to obtain public housing and will revoke work permits for illegal immigrants. Trump wants to authorize mass deportations of illegal immigrants and to only allow those with actual cause to file asylum claims. He wants to put American workers first and to ensure that American taxpayers aren't bein defrauded by the immigration system.

The New York Times ran a lengthy detailing of their interpretation of Trump's plans to secure the border and the nation from lawbreakers, criminals, human traffickers, and terrorists, and just as so many in media did during his time in office, they misrepresented most of his plans and portrayed them in the most dire possible terms. 

Under Joe Biden, more than 7 million illegal immigrants have crossed into the US unlawfully. His federal agents raise ladders to help illegal immigrants climb over the wall, remove border fencing put into place by authorties in Texas, and continue to invite illegal immigrants to pour into the US to the point where even Democrat mayors in America's largest cities are begging for him to stop. The Biden administration can't stop, they won't stop. 

Here are Trump's real plans for how to deal with illegal immigration and how to secure America's border. 

Death Penalty for Child Traffickers

In a second term, Trump will urge Congress to implement the death penalty as punishment for those convicted of trafficking children across the border. He vowed to sign an Executive Order that would target human traffickers and "transnational criminal organizations that traffic and exploit innocent people."

End Birth Tourism

Another key way Trump intends to tackle illegal immigration is to end birth tourism, the practice of visiting the United States while pregnant for the purpose of making what would a foreign child a citizen. The mothers then travel back home and raise their new American citizen far from her shores.

Deny US Citizenship for Children of Illegal Immigrants

He will also prevent the children born to those who are in the US illegally from becoming citizens. The ban would prevent these children from gaining US passports, social security numbers, or access federal benefits. One parent would have to be a lawful citizen for the child to become a citizen. This, he said, "will eliminate a major incentive for illegal immigration, discourage future waves of illegal immigration to exploit this misapplication of citizenship, and encourage illegal aliens in the U.S. to return home."

Deportations of Illegal Immigrants

As part of his plan to clean up American cities, he will require local law enforcement agencies to work with Immigration and Customs enforcement to deport criminals who illegal immigrants. This was part of his Executive Order to Unleash Interior Immigration Enforcement which sought to deport those who are in the US illegally. Deportations such as these would deter those seeking illegal entry from doing so. The order was "to direct executive departments and agencies (agencies) to deploy all lawful means to secure the Nation’s southern border, to prevent further illegal immigration into the United States, and to repatriate illegal aliens swiftly, consistently, and humanely."

Visa Sanctions for China to Combat Espionage

Trump will work to get those engaging in espionage on behalf of the Chinese government out of the US as well, and part of that will be the imposition of "visa sanctions and travel restrictions are necessary to shut off Chinese access to American secrets in compliance with our demands and in compliance with our laws."

Designate Drug Cartels as Foreign Terrorists

Border control measures will also be an integral part of how a second term Trump intends to fight and destroy the ability of drug cartels to operate with impunity across the border. Major drug cartels will be designated as foreign terrorist organizations. Trump intends to finish construction on the border wall between the US and Mexico, reimplement the policy of making illegal immigrants who apply for asylum to wait in Mexico until their court date instead of being released into the US, stop the catch-and-release policies and instead deport those who are apprehended at the US border crossing illegally.

No Amnesty

Trump promised that there would be absolutely no amnesty for the millions upon millions of illegal immigrants who have poured in under Joe Biden. Amnesty, he said, would reward the cartels who are guilty of transporting and profiting from those seeking to enter the US illegally.

Trump vowed to reimplement several of the executive orders he enacted which Biden, in his first days in office, revoked. During his time in office, which he attained in part due to his campaign promise of dealing forcefully with illegal immigration. 

Travel Ban for Nations That Wilfully Send Terrorists, Criminals

The Executive Order Implementing the Travel Ban and Pausing Refugee Admissions, which denied admittance to to "those who engage in acts of bigotry or hatred (including 'honor' killings, other forms of violence against women, or the persecution of those who practice religions different from their own) or those who would oppress Americans of any race, gender, or sexual orientation." Under this EO, the issuance of visas was stopped to those from nations that refuse to provide adequate information to aid the US in adjudicating the person seeking a visa if not a foreign terrorist or criminal. This was blocked in courts and was termed a "Muslim ban" at the time, and by The New York Times now. 

Finish the Wall

The Executive Order on Border Security and Immigration Enforcement was the fulfillment of a 2016 campaign promise to build a border wall. It also required that those persons apprehended on suspicion of illegal activity be detained, that determinations as to their eligibility to remain in the US be expedited, and the removal of those whose claim to remain had been lawfully rejected.

Extreme Vetting of Foreign Nationals

The Presidential Memorandum on the Extreme Vetting of Foreign Nationals enhanced the screening and vetting process for foreign nationals when it comes to granting visas. This EO required agencies to figure out what additional information they would need to obtain from origin nations in order to make better determinations as to who should be granted visas and who should not. This was to ensure that those who are "not a security or public-safety threat" were not granted entry. The protocols were to ensure to "prevent the entry into the United States of foreign nationals who may aid, support, or commit violent, criminal, or terrorist acts; and ensuring the proper collection of all information necessary to rigorously evaluate all grounds of inadmissibility or deportability, or grounds for the denial of other immigration benefits."

National Vetting Center

The Presidential Memorandum to Create a National Vetting Center established said center in the DHS to "coordinate the efforts of Federal officials to vet people seeking to enter or remain within our country." This is in support of the other EOs that required increased vetting of those seeking visas. It's goal was to "coordinate vetting efforts throughout the Federal Government and apply an integrated approach that leverages relevant information from across the Nation’s national security apparatus, consistent with law and policy."

Block Federal Funds to Sanctuary Cities

The Executive Order to Block Federal Grants to Sanctuary Cities was blocked by a judge during Trump's term in office, but the plan was to withhold federal funding from cities that refused to cooperate with federal efforts to deport illegal immigrants. Many of these cities, such as New York, have now felt the full weight of their failure to deal with illegal immigration adequately. Mayor Eric Adams said illegal immigration would "destroy" New York as some 10,000 illegal immigrants flood into the "sanctuary city" each month.

Send National Guard to the US-Mexico Border

The Presidential Memorandum Ordering DHS to Train National Guard Troops to Assist with Border Enforcement sent 4,000 National Guardsmen to the border to aid in operational support missions. Their job was not to perform functions of law enforcement, but to monitor cameras, sensor feeds, and "assist with the overall situational awareness" as well as "aerial support," engineering, administrative and mechanical support to border agents.

End Catch-and-Release

The Presidential Memorandum to End "catch and release" at the Border did just that. The order required the establishment of "facilities to detain aliens for violations of immigration law at or near the borders of the United States" and to assign asylum officers to those detention facilities to expedite claims. Those in violation of immigration law would be detained and it ensured that the asylum program was not manipulated to allow for the entry of those who should be deported. Under Biden, most of those who have applied for asylum will not be found eligible, per DHS, but they have been admitted anyway.

Asylum Seekers Must Do So at Ports of Entry

The Presidential Proclamation Suspending Entry Across Southern Border Outside Ports of Entry to Bar Asylum Access required those seeking asylum to do so at an official port of entry rather than entering illegally at some other point along the border, being apprehended, and then asking for asylum.

Put American Workers First

The Executive Order requiring the U.S. Government to Prioritize the Hiring of U.S. Workers in the Administration of all Immigration Programs was a promise to put American workers first. It tightened the standards for the H-1B visa program to make sure that skilled American workers were not displaced by foreign workers. The rule was intended to "limit an employer’s ability to replace workers with cheap foreign labor and help ensure wages are not suppressed by the presence of low-cost foreign workers."

Put American Cotractors First

The Executive Order on Aligning Federal Contracting and Hiring Practices with the Interests of American Workers required agencies to make sure that the companies being contracted for federal work put American workers first and did not hire "temporary foreign labor" to do the work for the federal government.

Halting Immigration After Pandemic Economic Shock

The Presidential Proclamation Suspending Chain Migration, Visa Lottery, and All Non-Essential Foreign Workers was issued in response to the coronavirus pandemic that swept into the US in 2020. It temporarily halted "for a period of 60 days, the entry of aliens as immigrants, subject to certain exceptions." This was renewed many times and when Biden came into office he attempted to revoke it. This resulted in a court battle with, eventually, the Supreme Court weighing in and saying that while the pandemic had effectively ended, the government had no better plan to stem the tide of illegal immigration.

Illegal Immigrants Must Not Burden US Healthcare System

The Presidential Proclamation on Suspension of Entry of Immigrants Who Will Financially Burden the United States Healthcare System prevented entry of illegal immigrants with health concerns, a need for the medical system, and no way to pay for it. "Immigrants who enter this country should not further saddle our healthcare system, and subsequently American taxpayers, with higher costs," the order reads. Illegal immigrants who were unable to gain health insurance within 30 days of entry would be barred. President Obama required all Americans to obtain health insurance plans under penalty of law or risk fines for not doing so.

Immigrants Must Not Drain Social Safety Net Programs

The Presidential Memorandum to Cut Off Immigrant Access to the Welfare State requires sponsors to actually support those immigrants they claim to sponsor and to ensure that immigrants are not a drain on the suite of social safety net programs. Immigrants, under this order, must be able to be self-sufficient and cannot expect American taxpayers to fund them while they are in the US. USCIS said at the time "The President has made it a priority to ensure that every individual who seeks to come to the United States is self-sufficient, temporarily or permanently. The principle of self-sufficiency has been enshrined in our immigration laws since the 1800s, and we as an agency must ensure that immigrants who become part of this great country abide by this principle."

Correction: The section on the Presidential Memorandum on Enforcing the Legal Responsibilities of Sponsors of Aliens incorrectly stated that it was in regard to illegal immigrants. It has been corrected to read that it concerns those in the legal immigration process.