Solution to immigration crisis: A prez with a spine

Thursday, August 20, 2015
| Chad Groening (OneNewsNow.com)

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Two immigration enforcement activists are weighing in on Donald Trump's plan for immigration reform. Both suggest much of the problem would simply go away if a president would demonstrate the will and commitment to enforce the laws already on the books.
 During a recent appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press," the GOP presidential frontrunner said if elected he will deport all illegal immigrants from the U.S. and rescind all of Barack Obama's executive immigration orders. Trump said even for those who have no country to return to, "they have to go."
Ira Mehlman is a spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). He believes the Trump plan would create an atmosphere that would encourage many illegal aliens to leave the U.S. voluntarily and at the same time discourage others from coming.
"If you look at Trump's plan, we're going to try to deter as many people as possible from coming and remaining in the United States – and then step up enforcement for those who can't be deterred [from entering]," he explains to OneNewsNow.
Trump has summarized his immigration plan in three core principles: (1) secure the southern border by building a wall, (2) enforce the laws that have been passed, and (3) improve jobs, wages, and security for all Americans.
Mehlman points out that the problem of illegal immigration didn't happen overnight and it's not going to go away quickly, no matter what the federal government does.
"But over time, you can probably convince a lot of people who are here [illegally that] it's time to go home," he continues. "And you can convince a lot of people who are contemplating coming to the United States illegally not to invest their life savings with a smuggler, because there's nothing waiting for them here on the other side of the border."
Mehlman says the best way of enforcing the law is to convince people not to break it in the first place.
Advice: Get Congress involved
William Gheen, president of Americans for Legal Immigration PAC (ALIPAC), commends Trump for his boldness in bringing the problem of illegal immigration to the forefront – but maintains that even as president, the billionaire businessman wouldn't be able to do everything on his own.
"We've just had two presidents – Bush, then Obama – act like dictators instead of following the laws of the United States. We'd really like to hear Donald Trump talk more about using Congress," Gheen tells OneNewsNow.
"For instance, he could change birthright citizenship by having Congress pass a bill that defines the interpretation of that amendment to the Constitution [the 14th Amendment] not to include illegal immigrants."
According to Gheen, it wouldn't be necessary to deport 11 million illegal aliens if the existing immigration laws were just enforced. He believes if the person occupying the Oval Office would make that commitment, most illegal aliens would leave voluntarily.
"If the President of the United States announced from a podium today that the United States is going to start enforcing our existing laws, there would be a mass exodus from this country," says Gheen.
He contends that many illegal immigrants "will pick up and go" if they start hearing government officials tell them to either return to their home country or their belongings will be confiscated and sold to compensate American taxpayers.

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