The media can say what they will about the president, but to argue that he isn’t doing exactly what he promised to do during the campaign would be to lie.
Donald Trump has already repealed a great many of Barack Obama’s job-smothering executive orders, worked hard to bring manufacturing jobs back to the Rust Belt, gotten important trade concessions from the Chinese, and perhaps most importantly he’s had a tremendous effect on the number of illegal immigrants entering the country. While there have been few policy changes on immigration thus far during the Trump era, there has been a major slowdown in the number of migrants entering the country.
Over the last few months we’ve documented the monumental sea change in illegal immigration that has already happened over the last few months – see here, here, and here.
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Congress has joined in helping the Trump administration put the brakes on illegal migration to our nation. The House recently passed two bills that could soon become law and should help stem the tide of illegal immigrants: “Kate’s Law,” named for Kate Steinle, who was murdered by am illegal, would increase penalties for illegal aliens who have already been deported and are caught attempting to reenter the country. The other bill would deny federal grants to sanctuary cities.
For it’s part, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) says that the immigration slowdown has a lot to do with a change in the Executive Branch’s focus on fighting illegal immigration.
One critical litmus test is southern California, which in addition to bordering Mexico, historically has been welcoming to illegals. Since Trump took office, however, the number of arrests there has risen dramatically.
From February through May of this year, San Diego’s fugitive operations team has arrested 547 people, according to data from ICE. That’s more than double the total for the same months last year, at 242, or the year before, at 267. In 2014, before Obama narrowed immigration enforcement’s priorities, San Diego’s fugitive operations team arrested 540 people in the same time frame.
The spike in arrests in southern California shouldn’t be all that surprising in light of a recent study showing that 500,000-plus illegals live in San Diego and Riverside, Calif., alone.
Cross-posted at Constitution.com
