41 moves Democrats and courts tried to kill Trump's immigration reforms
by Paul Bedard, Washington Secrets Columnist | | September 29, 2020 08:53 AM
President Trump, who opened his 2016 campaign with a call for vast immigration reform, pushed through several historic changes to end illegal border crossings despite a wall of opposition from Democrats and liberal courts, according to a new report.
Over the past three-and-a-half years, the president faced at least 41 major challenges to his calls for reform from courts, congressional Democrats, and even “establishment” Republicans, said the report from the anti-illegal immigration group Federation for American Immigration Reform.
Along the way, he succeeded enough to build hundreds of miles of his promised border wall and shut down much of the illegal border crossings.
Still, suggests the report posted below, titled Democratic Wall of Opposition to Immigration Reform in the Trump Era (2017-Present), there are many more promises to act on and promote to voters in the 2020 election.
“Amid the perpetual noise machine that has drowned out reasoned discourse on critical national issues, this report is an attempt to summarize what has been accomplished between 2017 and today, what has been stymied, and what the Democratic Party’s vision for the next four years will be,” said FAIR President Dan Stein.
“From Day One, the goal of the Democratic Party has been to block any legislation or executive action intended to secure our borders, effectively enforce immigration laws in the interior of the country, and reform our broken legal immigration process,” said Stein.
While the coronavirus, the economy, and the Supreme Court vacancy have moved to the top of Trump’s campaign issues, officials said that the president hasn’t taken his foot off the immigration accelerator despite the overwhelming opposition from Democrats and promises by presidential challenger Joe Biden for open borders.
“President Trump believes that immigration is not only a national security issue but an economic one, especially as America continues to reopen,” said campaign spokesman Ken Farnaso. He added, “Voters are concerned about Joe Biden’s plan to grant amnesty for 11 million illegal immigrants while simultaneously sidelining Americans who are jobless because of the coronavirus.”
Congressional Democrats, especially House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, have been a chief roadblock to a unified national immigration policy. The FAIR report notes that many Democrats have flipped on their earlier hard-line approach to immigration to fight Trump.
The FAIR report lists 14 times the Democrats changed their position, notably Biden’s “Unity Plan,” which calls for open borders, overturning Biden’s past support for a border wall and opposition to “sanctuary cities.”
Like FAIR and Trump, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy pointed a finger at Pelosi for trying to stop White House immigration changes, many of which have strong support.
“Name me one problem Speaker Pelosi and House Democrats have solved with their majority,” McCarthy told Secrets. "They’ve refused to work with President Trump and Republicans to address our border security and immigration system, and in fact, this new socialist Democrat Party has moved so far to the left that they are even calling to defund our border patrol and immigration enforcement.”
He warned that “if Democrats get more power, they'll follow through on these reckless plans for open borders.”
McCarthy also promised that the House GOP’s new “Commitment to America” will help the president complete his immigration reform promises. “If we take the majority, we will work with President Trump to secure our border and enforce our immigration laws,” said the top House Republican.
While the report, written by R.J. Hauman and Preston Huennekens, FAIR’s government relations team, focuses on the wall of opposition Trump has faced, it also tracks the president’s use of executive authority to make good on his promises to build the wall, end "catch and release," bar illegal immigrants from getting taxpayer-funded welfare, and root out illegal immigrants burrowed inside the nation.
Stein said: “Gridlock in Washington and resistance to real immigration reform by entrenched special interests with a grip on both parties did not negate the urgent need for action. The administration properly and legally exercised authority that has been granted to it by the Constitution and by Congress to act to protect vital national interests."
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/w...ration-reforms
