Trump's Immigration Policies Essay

Introduction

Throughout President Donald Trump's campaign, he focused on deporting undocumented immigrants. He argued that the illegal migrants could be a threat to the country's internal security and the economy at large (Diamond and Murray). He also claimed that the migration laws ought to protect the rights of Americans vis-a-vis employment and security. Additionally, Trump accentuated on the need to protect the legal immigrants in America. His immigration policies aimed at guaranteeing better economic and social development in the entire country. For these reasons, he vowed to make sweeping changes to the immigration policies of America with actions taken to handle immigration from Mexico and the refugee process from the majority of Muslim countries (Hing). During his campaign, he expanded on his controversial proposals about the illegal immigrants in the US and suggested on the audacious measures he would take to end the situation. Therefore, his immigration policy is based on three fundamental principles: that the US must construct a wall across the border of US and Mexico, that the laws of immigration must be enforced fully, and that any policy regarding immigration must aim at increasing jobs, wages and security for all American citizens.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

President Trump's Policy Goals Regarding Undocumented Immigrants

Firstly, he stated that he would make Mexico pay for an impermeable wall along the Southern border of the United States. While waiting for Mexico to pay for the wall, Donald Trump proposed an increased visa fee for Mexican diplomats and CEOs, stopping foreign aid to Mexico and confiscating all remittance payments gotten from illicit wages (Rothwell and Diego-Rosell, 101).

Secondly, he planned to deport all undocumented immigrants living in the US, and ensure that no foreigner settles in the country illegally (Diamond and Murray). His administration will, therefore, attempt to prevent any person from crossing the border unlawfully.

Thirdly, Trump suggested implementing a policy that will prevent visa overstays. In this case, he proposed to increase visa fees on border crossing cards. Fourthly, Trump promised to advocate for enactment of a countrywide e-verification program. Although this policy was part of the 2013 immigration reform package, Trump stressed on its implementation to allow employers verify if potential employees were legally allowed to work in America (Rothwell and Diego-Rosell, 101).

He also called for suspending the issuance of green cards claiming that the influx of immigrants into the US would deny job opportunities for the US natives. By doing so, his administration will put an undocumented immigrant at risk of deportation (Hing). Similarly, the Trump administration will make it difficult for illegal immigrants to live and work in America, thus, encouraging self-deportation

Another policy is that Trump's administration will do what it can to deport more people. He planned to triple the existing US deportation force which will supposedly allow the government to deport approximately 1.2 million people every year (Diamond and Murray). Another thing is that his administration would make the unauthorized migrants who left the US to wait for about three to 10 years or be banned forever from applying to re-enter lawfully (Rothwell and Diego-Rosell,101).

Another policy is to defund the so-called sanctuary cities. He proposed that the sanctuary cities or local governments that fail to comply with the requests of the immigration and customs enforcement agency to detain the suspected migrants should not be funded by the federal government. (Diamond and Murray) Another policy is the end of birthright citizenship which is the enduring practice of conferring the citizenship of US.

The Limitations and Opposition Trump Has/Will Face in His Immigration Policies

One of the challenges Trump has faced in his immigration plans is related to the Mexican border. Mass unlawful immigration and workers from Mexico are migrating to the US to seek to look for better jobs. Trump issued an executive order that aims at building a wall along American-Mexican border (Rothwell and Diego-Rosell, 101). This move is considered as one of the most serious steps in his campaign. Most people across the world have criticized this move and have even considered it a big mistake. The first limitation in this issue was that the planned wall would cost much and, certainly, Mexico is likely not to pay for this plan (Diamond and Murray). Secondly, some experts view the wall as a weak solution to the issue of unlawful immigration since a greater population of illegal migrants do not originate from Mexico. Instead, they are Central Americans who flee from political instability and economic woes of their countries.

Another limitation is concerning the end of birthright citizenship. This proposal would require a constitutional amendment because the 14th amendment already grants citizenship to every individual born in the US. Another limitation is that Trump's policies have faced a lot of critiques from senior politicians. Some leaders have argued that Trump's statement of America being run by illegal immigrants and criminal aliens is bogus (Hing). In fact, the leaders maintain that his deportation plans will create a political hatred in the US.

Trump also propagated fear that Americans were susceptible to terror attacks from refugees seeking asylum in the US. Again, many people have criticized his statement because there is no proof. According to the Conservative Cato Institute, foreign-born terrorists murdered more than 34000 people for over 40 years (Diamond and Murray). It is alleged that most terrorists involved in this act did not come to the US as refugees but as visitors. More than 750,000 murders have also occurred over the same period (Rothwell and Diego-Rosell,101). The report by this organization concluded that the refugees have a low risk of engaging in terrorist acts. Therefore, some of Trump's statements are misleading.

Another limitation is that some people view Trump's immigration plan as a bad foreign policy. For instance, his move to ban the entry of individuals from seven majority Muslim nations is said to be a threat to the US. According to Senator Bernie Sanders, this ban could be used as a recruitment tool for terrorists (Diamond and Murray). Additionally, US may risk losing important diplomatic relations if Trump insists on the immigration policies.

Another limitation is the sanctuary challenge. Trump's order threatening to stop financial support to cities with sanctuary policies is criticized by many leaders. Some US politicians have argued that thus directive will put an end to the flow of huge amounts of money to the major population (Diamond and Murray). If allowed to be implemented, then, it will make the communities less safe, it would lover the popularity of US residents, thus, dividing the families. It is worth noting that sanctuary states adopt rules that limit cooperation like failure to adhere to the demands of the American Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer (Hing). Both the actions of Massachusetts and San Francisco contend that the orders of Trump violate the tenth amendment to the US constitution which maintains that powers not given to the federal government should fall to the states.

Further, Trump promised to deport all illegal immigrants living in the US. However, many people are against this plan as they point out that this action will be costly to the government. As such, when implemented, it will lower the Gross Domestic Product by about 5.7% (Diamond and Murray). Likewise, deporting all illegal immigrants will low unemployment rate but the employers will put more efforts to restrict the labour supply of the country. The order could also limit the ability of the employers to attract and retain competent workers.

Lastly, many people have viewed Trump's immigration policies as an act of discrimination. There is a possibility that the policies could discriminate people on the basis of race and religion (Rothwell and Diego-Rosell,101). For example, planning to deport Muslims itself a form of religious discrimination, and this is argued to be a violation of individual' rights as depicted in the US constitution.

Strategies Trump Can Use to Achieve His Goal

The first approach that Trump can use to achieve his goal is to drastically cut family immigration. Trump's administration can cut family immigration by allowing the citizens and lawful permanent US residents to sponsor their young children who are below 18 years or their spouses (Rothwell and Diego-Rosell,101). Family reunification is an important part of the migration system that most individuals expect that this approach will reduce the population of people who enter the US by half.

Presently, US citizens are permitted to sponsor their parents, siblings, spouses, adult and minor children. On the other hand, legal permanent residents are allowed to sponsor their spouses as well as their adult and minor children (Diamond and Murray). This measure would cut these categories dramatically to enable citizens and legal permanent residents to only sponsor their spouses and minor children. The secret of this plan is to address the existing immigration challenges.

Another strategy is to strengthen immigration and border enforcement. During Trump's campaign, he repeatedly stated that he will first build a wall along the Mexico-America border and Mexico will pay for it (Hing). In this strategy, it will be imperative for President Donald Trump to influence the Department of Homeland Security to enforce federal immigration laws, build barriers, and control the borders to overcome illegal immigration.

Another strategy is detention and deportation. Trump's administration can avoid immigration of undocumented citizens by implementing the strategies of deportation and detention (Diamond and Murray). Trump can achieve this goal by hiring more agents, arresting more illegal migrants and deporting them instantly.

Another strategy is to make Mexico pay for the wall. Leaders in Mexico have taken advantage of the US by using unlawful migration to carry out criminal activities in the US (Rothwell and Diego-Rosell,101). Trump can, therefore, force Mexico to pay for wall failure of which he can seize remittance payments obtained from unlawful wages.

Another strategy is to defend the nation's constitution. The US can only be great if it upholds the constitution. For that reason, all the immigration policies of Trump must comply with the state and the federal laws (Diamond and Murray). He must, therefore, ensure that his plans succeed quickly if they are legit and cannot be questioned by law courts.

Another strategy is to prevent visa overstays. Trump can increase fees on border crossing cards as well as fees on North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) employee visas from Mexico to prevent employees from overstaying their visas. This approach will also address the issue of illegal immigration to the US.

Conclusion

Overall, Trump has proposed various plans that he needs to implement to address the challenge of illegal immigration in US. His first policy was to construct a wall along the border between Mexico and US. The second policy was to deport all undocumented immigrants living in the US, and ensure that no foreigner emigrates the country illegally. The third policy was to prevent visa overstays. Another policy was to defund the so-called sanctuary cities. However, Trump has faced challenges and criticism regarding his...