Call it an invisible (policy) fence, if you will, but it’s startlingly effective. A Washington Post report from yesterday details some of the successes of the Trump administration on immigration: actually enforcing existing laws, strengthening border security, and stemming the tide of low-skill immigrants entering the United States—all this without yet building a physical border wall.
“Arrests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement are up more than 40 percent this year, and the agency wants to more than double its staff by 2023, according to a federal contracting notice published this month. ICE is calling for a major increase in workplace raids and has signed more than two dozen agreements with state and local governments that want to help arrest and detain undocumented residents . . . ”
“Trump’s tough talk alone appears to be one of the administration’s best bulwarks: Illegal crossings along the border with Mexico have plunged to their lowest level in 45 years, and U.S. agents are catching a far greater share of those attempting to sneak in.”
That’s news that Americans can be thankful for this year.
Of course, the Post report doesn’t quite get it right. Twice it claims that the Trump administration and the immigration hawks who support him are really only motivated by prejudice (“some of Trump’s most fervent supporters see curbing immigration as a way to turn back the United States’ rapid racial and ethnic transformation”), rather than being concerned about crime, illegal drugs, and strengthening the workforce for American citizens. But if the American people come out ahead under these policies, the liberal elite can hem and haw all they like.
