President Trump’s Failed Immigration Promises — I’m Not Disappointed
Joseph Tanfani of the Los Angeles Times reports on the Trump administration’s keeping of its early promises on immigration enforcement. Shortly after President Trump took office, he signed an executive order that promised a swift, sharp crackdown on illegal immigration — construction of a massive border wall, hiring of 5,000 new Border Patrol agents, and stepped-up deportation efforts.
Seven months later, construction of the wall has yet to begin, the number of Border Patrol officers has actually dropped by 220, and immigration agents are on track to deport 10,000 fewer people this year than in President Obama’s last year in office
At the same time part of Trump’s crackdown is showing dramatic results. Illegal border crossings are down 22% compared with last summer. Arrests of people in the country illegally have surged 43% since January, including longtime residents. The sharpest increase in arrests was of undocumented migrants without criminal convictions – 24,189 under Trump, nearly three times as many as Obama in the first seven months of last year.
KJ