By Editorial Board
Albuquerque Journal
President Donald Trump’s emerging immigration policies received some much-needed clarity – and realism – last week, and though far from definitive, the outline he provided in his address to Congress and during a private meeting with television news anchors is a path the nation has needed for far too long.
And it certainly is more helpful than some of his campaign rhetoric on the issue.
While his critics have harped continually on alleged “mass deportation” plans – which Trump has denied – the word out of Washington last week was about potential compromises that would be a reasonable blueprint for immigration reform that his predecessor avoided even when Democrats controlled both houses of Congress.
And while many in the news media have been borderline hysterical in reporting deportations under Trump, it is far below the more than 2.5 million deportations under President Obama.
Trump’s apparent outline for an overhaul of a broken system is based on several reasonable principles, starting with border security. That, by the way, was key in the Senate “Gang of Eight” compromise floated in the Senate a few years ago.
It also focuses, appropriately, on deporting illegal immigrants with criminal records – especially those who already have outstanding deportation orders – and the end of the catch-and-release system where those apprehended were simply told to show up for a deportation hearing that many then skipped.
For those reasons, Trump is proposing more Border Patrol agents.
To read more click here.
