Trump starting to sound like Obama on immigration

[webfact]

Trump starting to sound like Obama on immigration

By ALICIA A. CALDWELL

 

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump is starting to sound an awful lot like President Barack Obama on immigration.

 

In his first postelection interview, Trump said he will focus on deporting criminal immigrants and not everyone living in the United States illegally. Two million or 3 million people could be immediate targets for deportation under this approach, Trump said, providing a likely inflated figure.

 

And that "big, beautiful wall" at the Mexican border? Trump said he may be amenable to a fence along some parts of the roughly 2,000-mile border.

 

The softened stance contrasts sharply with Trump's campaign rhetoric. As a candidate, he called for everyone living in the country illegally to return to their home countries and for Mexico to pay billions of dollars for the wall.

 

A look at Trump's shifting immigration stance:

 

FOCUS ON CRIMINALS

Trump said in an interview with "60 Minutes" broadcast Sunday that immigration enforcement will concentrate on criminals.

 

"What we are going to do is get the people that are criminal and have criminal records, gang members, drug dealers," he said. "We have a lot of these people, probably 2 million, it could be even 3 million; we are getting them out of our country or we're going to incarcerate."

 

Trump added: "We're getting them out of our country; they're here illegally."

 

Obama's Homeland Security Department has operated similarly. Since 2010, criminals comprised more than half of those deported from the U.S. Over his presidency, Obama has overseen the deportation of more than 2.5 million people.

 

Trump didn't say Sunday how he will target criminals. He previously has spoken about reviving programs that gave immigration agents access to jails so they could identify people living in the country illegally.

 

But if Trump does so, local jurisdictions likely will object. Local laws in some places bar cooperation with immigration authorities. And some federal court rulings make it difficult for local jails to hold immigrants beyond their criminal sentences or strictly for immigration violations.

 

It is even harder to deport criminal immigrants who aren't incarcerated. Many live in the shadows. Tracking them down would take a lot of time and government money.

 

Deportation costs average about $12,500 per person, according to a 2011 government estimate.

___

2 MILLION OR 3 MILLION CRIMINAL IMMIGRANTS

Trump's estimate of criminals who are in the country illegally is probably much too high.

 

In 2012, Homeland Security officials estimated some 1.9 million criminal immigrants in the United States who could be deported. But the government didn't break down how many of those people were in the country legally and how many were here illegally.

 

A subsequent analysis by the Migration Policy Institute, a Washington think tank, concluded that only about 820,000 of those people were in the country illegally. The other million or so people had some sort of legal status, including green cards or visas.

 

Deporting green card holders is possible, though the process can involve lengthy court proceedings.

___

FENCE vs. WALL

"I will build a great, great wall on our southern border," Trump said as he launched his presidential campaign in June 2015. "And I will have Mexico pay for that wall."

 

He repeated the pledge at almost every rally.

 

But in his weekend interview, Trump took a more nuanced approach.

 

In certain areas, Trump said, "it could be some fencing." Elsewhere, he added, the border wall was still appropriate.

 

The president-elect didn't outline where a fence or a wall might fit better. But his willingness to consider fencing marked a considerable concession from his campaign stance.

 

Border fencing is nothing new. There is fencing along about 650 miles in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California, encompassing almost a third of the border.

 

Under President George W. Bush, Congress authorized $1.2 billion to build hundreds of miles of double-layered fencing. The Congressional Research Service and the Army Corps of Engineers have estimated that the fencing already in place cost the United States about $7 billion.

 

Any new construction along the border would be a costly and complicated endeavor. Cost estimates of a wall have ranged from $10 billion to $20 billion.

 

Trump would also face myriad environmental regulations, objections from private land owners and a legally binding 1970 treaty with Mexico that governs structures along the Rio Grande and Colorado River at the Mexican border.

 

-- © Associated Press 2016-11-15

[Ulysses G.]

No one cares how he keeps illegal immigrants out. The doing is the main thing.

[jerojero]

Thinking he now realizes the enormity of his campaign promises, given he has to now make good on them! Seems he may be more of a politician than previously believed.... Saying this that during campaign, then backtracking after being elected.

[ThaiWest]

NOT even...

[Enoon]

4 hours ago, jerojero said:

Thinking he now realizes the enormity of his campaign promises, given he has to now make good on them! Seems he may be more of a politician than previously believed.... Saying this that during campaign, then backtracking after being elected.

 

"By their deeds, so shall you know them"

 

 

Edited November 15, 2016 by Enoon

[Grubster]

Five million dollars per mile, I'd like to have that contract, Haliburtan maybe?

[Thaidream]

I expect he will build a wall in some sectionof the border and use fencing for the rest. HIs real intent is to secure the border by increased numbers of border agents; use of technology; and other monitoring to stop the crossings. In addition, he will definitely deport convicted felon aliens which number around $2million . This should have been done years ago. He will also start witholding federal funding to so called sanctuary cities such as San Francisco and New York who refuse to report concited alien felons to the federal Immigration Department. Why should these people be protected ?  These are people convicted of a major crime in the United States who are left on the street to commit other crimes. If you are convicted in Thailand of a felony- they deport you. 

[nottocus]

On ‎11‎/‎15‎/‎2016 at 1:10 PM, Thaidream said:

Why should these people be protected ?  . 

 

Be careful! You might infringe on their human rights and some left wing loser will then have to go and pat a dog or colour in some pictures.

 

 

[Baerboxer]

19 minutes ago, nottocus said:

 

Be careful! You might infringe on their human rights and some left wing loser will then have to go and pat a dog or colour in some pictures.

 

 

 

Yet illegal immigrants break laws without caring. And many of these illegals then seemingly commit crimes, serious crimes and become habitual criminals.

What about the HR of their victims?

 

Oh, they might be white, middle class, families so they don't count. 

[nottocus]

On ‎11‎/‎15‎/‎2016 at 1:53 PM, Baerboxer said:

 

Yet illegal immigrants break laws without caring. And many of these illegals then seemingly commit crimes, serious crimes and become habitual criminals.

What about the HR of their victims?

 

Oh, they might be white, middle class, families so they don't count. 

I agree with you mate. Can you see that in my post?

[Jonmarleesco]

Perhaps the U.K should take note. We can manage to lose foreign criminals - and we are talking of rapists, murderers, etc. - yet can't deport them. Though Brexit might help.

[Jonmarleesco]

8 hours ago, Grubster said:

Five million dollars per mile, I'd like to have that contract, Haliburtan maybe?

Cheney is no doubt rubbing his liver spots together.

[Briggsy]

Trump was Hillary's patsy all along. Smalltown 'Merican folks been had!

[dunroaming]

"We will build a wall, a great big brick wall, really high and Mexico will pay for it. I promise you that!"  We heard it time after time, it was his rallying call and the fans loved it.

 

Keep defending your boy guys and keep making excuses for him.

[Trouble]

1 hour ago, dunroaming said:

"We will build a wall, a great big brick wall, really high and Mexico will pay for it. I promise you that!"  We heard it time after time, it was his rallying call and the fans loved it.

 

Keep defending your boy guys and keep making excuses for him.

There is a difference between campaign rhetoric and action.  Always has been and alway will be.  I don't care whether it is a wall, fence, or soldiers standing shoulder to shoulder as long as it stops the illegal crossings.  Further, I don't believe most Americans ever believed all illegals would be deported.  What they want is a certain amount of control and deportation of felons and repeat criminals.  Quite frankly, I think even those given green cards should be on probation and if they break the law they loose the green card and are required to return to their home country.  The liberals seem to want to live in a society where rules can be ignored at will.  I sure hope Trump goes after the sanctuary cities big time. What Trump has been campaigning for all along was to bring back some kind of order to the place and get people working again and bring some prosperity back, something sorely lacking during the last eight years.  Why can't the liberals just give him a chance. I voted for Obama the first time around and regretted that after the first 3 years as he divided people rather than unifying them.  While I did not agree with Obama, I wasn't out in the streets protesting against him.  He was the president and that what we fools elected. Trump will succeed or fail.  Let's all hope he succeeds.  He is not as far right as the liberal press has made him out to be nor will be the people he appoints. Even Obama called Trump pragmatic. You liberals should stop the rhetoric, he hasn't even taken office yet.  It's the press feeding the anti-Trump frenzy.

[chilli42]

The difference between campaign rhetoric and action ... an expedient lie to get votes.  Trump demonstrated he is very comfortable lying during his campaign.  It will be entertaining to see the gap between campaign rhetoric and action get bigger every day.

[Usernames]

A criminal alien would be any illegal who engaged in identity theft, worked without a green card, crossed into the country without the legal right to do so, or who remained in the US after their visa expired.  That ought to get just about all of them in my book. 

[dunroaming]

5 hours ago, Trouble said:

There is a difference between campaign rhetoric and action

Sure is and there is a difference of openly making a promise knowing that you cannot deliver that promise and stating your intentions.  Nothing wrong in saying that you are going to increase security at the border but that doesn't get the mob chanting.

 

Everyone recognises that Trump spits out these things without thinking them through (it's all just hot air) and that can be excused as campaign rhetoric.  To knowingly repeat a lie over and over is a different thing altogether.