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Ken Langone, the billionaire founder of Home Depot, recently said of President Donald Trump, “I think he’s got a good shot at going down in history as one of our best presidents ever.”
That’s high praise from one of America’s most successful entrepreneurs, and well-deserved. President Trump is on a roll; as Langone said, “like it or not, this guy is getting things done … He’s acting presidential.”
He’s right.
But…Trump could do more. Truly consequential presidents have a signature issue that leaves our country profoundly better off. FDR created our nation’s safety net, for instance, while Ronald Reagan ended the decades-long Cold War by defeating the Soviet Union.
TRUMP’S BORDER MIRACLE: FROM BIDEN’S CHAOTIC IMMIGRATION CRISIS TO ‘ALL QUIET’ IN RECORD TIME
To join their ranks, Trump needs to more broadly address his signature issue and fix our dysfunctional immigration system. It’s a big lift, but history has shown this president is willing to go where others fear to tread.
President Trump should return to the immigration overhaul he proposed in his first term. Many of the proposals, like ditching the diversity lottery, were popular, but Democrats refused to play ball. Since then, Democrats have been clobbered in an election where their unpopular backing of open borders and illegal immigration became the second-most important campaign issue. They might be open to a deal.
Meanwhile, the president’s supporters applaud the drastic decline in illegal border crossings and his tougher stance on deportations, but the public overall is beginning to sour on Trump’s immigration crackdown. President Trump’s approval rating on immigration is dropping; according to Real Clear Politics polling, he has gone from solidly in the black on the issue to now underwater. Trump’s deportation sweeps have been vilified by Democrats and the legacy media; Americans are worried the White House is going too far.
Republicans claim they support legal immigration. They need to show the country they are serious, by working with the White House to draft policies that attract and keep the best and the brightest from around the world, that provide a legal solution for the millions living in our country illegally and that supply the seasonal workers we need.
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Reforms must eliminate benefits and work opportunities that attract illegal entrants and stop rewarding the politicians who gain from undocumented persons living in their states.
The GOP should drive this overhaul, or the next Democratic president will simply open the border again, as Joe Biden did, and our country will once more be overrun with people who do not pay taxes and who pose an undue burden on the communities who welcome them. All these issues are manageable; and the solutions can be sold to American voters. The priority is not to squash immigration, but to eliminate illegal immigration.
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Producing comprehensive immigration reform and pushing it through Congress will be contentious. Though in the past Democrats favored border security and other common-sense approaches, now they do not support any restrictions on illegal immigration and even advocate for criminals in the country illegally. They have long believed that Hispanics support them on this, but recent trends suggest that is not true. A recent survey found that Hispanic men, for instance, are abandoning Democrats in droves.
Here are critical elements of the program, which changes who gets in and who is allowed to stay.:
- Instead of granting entry to the U.S. based on family sponsorship (chain migration) or through the unpopular diversity visa program, which randomly selects 50,000 people from mostly poor countries to take up residence, establish a point-based merit system that prioritizes applicants who can contribute to the economy. Canada employs such a system, called Express Entry, that grades applicants on attributes like age, education, language proficiency, and work experience. Canada also accommodates refugees, but the “economic” pathway is by far the greatest, accounting for 58% of immigrants two years ago. In 2019 President Trump called for such a plan; he still favors it.
- Allow illegal immigrants who have resided in the U.S. for 10 years or more, and who have never been convicted of a crime, a one-time chance to become registered legal aliens. Establish that they will never become citizens, having come in illegally, but they will no longer live in the shadows, and they will contribute more fully to our country by paying taxes. This is not “amnesty”, but the attainment of legal status which should win the support of Democrats and the country.
- Securing the border does not eliminate illegal immigration, since about half of undocumented people in the U.S. have overstayed their visa. In addition to closing off illegal border crossings, Congress must demand that all employers use E-Verify, a free government-provided service, to prevent people in the U.S. illegally from working. Migrants who cannot work will go home. In addition, to help out employers, fix the work-visa system. If we need more people to pick crops or staff resorts, increase the number of visas available.
- End birthright citizenship. This policy, which has been abandoned by most developed countries, acts as a major incentive for illegal immigration. President Trump has proposed ending the automatic citizenship awarded anyone born in the U.S.; instead of leaving it up to the courts, Congress must codify the change.
- Change the census so that only citizens are counted. Democrats in California and New York will howl, as they will lose seats and power, but the founders of our country never envisioned that the 14th amendment would be used to encourage illegal immigration.
Immigration reform has routinely failed to make it through Congress as both parties historically have campaigned off this “wedge” issue. Today, President Trump has the clout, the credibility and the guts to push for change.
Democrats are in the dumps; helping to craft a bipartisan agreement on one of our nation’s biggest problems might begin their recovery. Both sides would benefit, as would the country.
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