End the visa lottery, and move
Source: 2018 State of the Union address
, Jan 30, 2018
OpEd: early signs by 2008 of immigration resentment
It was out of some instinctive or idiot-savant-like political understanding that Trump had made this issue his own, frequently observing, "Wasn't anybody an American anymore?" In some of his earliest political outings, even before Obama's election in
2008, Trump talked with bewilderment and resentment about strict quotas on European immigration and the deluge from "Asia and other places."
(This deluge, as liberals would be quick to fact-check, was, even as it had grown, still quite a modest stream.) His obsessive focus on
Obama's birth certificate was in part about the scourge of non-European foreignness--a certain race-baiting. "Who were these people? Why were they here?"
Source: Fire And Fury, by Michael Wolff, p. 62
, Jan 5, 2018
FactCheck: "Fire and Fury" ignored Trump's 2000 book
FactCheck on Michael Wolff's "Fire and Fury": There is such a political storm over this book that OnTheIssues must point out Wolff's shallowness on the issues. A prime example is Wolff's analysis of Trump's core immigration stance. On page 62, Wolff
asserts that Trump expressed "bewildered resentment" of immigrants "in some of his earliest political outings, even before 2008."Wolff evidently is unaware that Trump wrote a policy book in 2000, The America We
Deserve, in his run for the Reform Party presidential nomination. Trump fully laid out his immigration stance: America first; make legal immigration hard; control borders against illegal immigrants.
Trump has no bewilderment; you might disagree
with Trump's stances, but they have remained unchanged for 18 years now. Wolff is particularly wrong in characterizing Trump's "earliest political outings" as around 2008--Trump was fully engaged in 2000. But people like Wolff weren't listening then!
Source: OnTheIssues FactCheck on "Fire And Fury, by Michael Wolff"
, Jan 5, 2018
One year in: only 200 feet of prototype order wall built
Almost a year into Donald Trump's presidency, the border wall he passionately promoted throughout his election campaign amounts to eight prototypes, no more than 30 feet long each, sitting in a desert outside San Diego.No funding has been
appropriated by Congress to advance the project beyond the testing phase. "We're calling on Congress to fund the border wall, which we're getting very close to," Trump said Dec. 20 during a Cabinet meeting at the White House. "We have some
wonderful prototypes that have been put up. And I may be going there, very shortly, to look at them in their final form."
The White House didn't respond to requests for comment. Trump has occasionally vented frustration with the pace of progress on
the wall, but has nonetheless projected confidence that it will eventually be built. "We're going to get the wall," Trump said Dec. 8 at the White House. "If we don't get the wall, then I got a lot of very unhappy people, starting with me."
Source: Bloomberg News on Trump's promise on Border Wall
, Dec 26, 2017
Protect America by banning refugees from terrorist countries
The Trump administration today announced a new Muslim ban executive order entitled "Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry". [The original Jan. 2017 order reduces to 50,000 the annual number of refugees allowed from 7 Muslim countries, and
sets the number allowed from Syria to zero. After a court found that unconstitutional, the March 2017 order replaced the list of 7 countries with Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen, for 90 days]. The director of the ACLU's Immigrants' Rights
Project had this reaction:"The Trump administration has conceded that its original Muslim ban was indefensible. Unfortunately, it has replaced it with a scaled-back version that shares the same fatal flaws. The only way to actually fix the Muslim ban
is not to have a Muslim ban. Instead, Pres. Trump has recommitted himself to religious discrimination. The changes the Trump administration has made completely undermine the bogus national security justifications the president has tried to hide behind.
Source: ACLU Fact-Check of Trump Administration promises & actions
, Mar 6, 2017
New agency VOICE: Victims of Immigrant Crime Engagement
I have ordered the Department of Homeland Security to create an office to serve American Victims. The office is called VOICE--Victims Of Immigration Crime Engagement. We are providing a voice to those who have been ignored by our media, and silenced
by special interests.Joining us in the audience tonight are very brave Americans whose government failed them. Jamiel Shaw's 17-year-old son was viciously murdered by an illegal immigrant gang member, who had just been released from prison.
The husbands of Susan Oliver and Jessica Davis--Deputy Sheriff Danny Oliver and Detective Michael Davis--were slain in the line of duty in California, viciously gunned down by an illegal immigrant with a criminal record and two prior deportations.
To Jamiel, Susan and Jessica: I want you to know--we will never stop fighting for justice. Your loved ones will never be forgotten, we will always honor their memory.
Source: 2017 State of the Union address to Congress
, Feb 28, 2017
Strip federal grant money to sanctuary cities
Donald Trump has already signed a dozen wide-ranging executive orders, hoping to fulfill a number of his campaign promises. Trump signed the burst of orders within just his first three weeks to undo many of President Barack Obama's regulatory policies.
Here's an overview:Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States: Signed: Jan. 25, 2017
The order outlines changes to a few immigration policies, but most notably it strips federal grant money to so-called sanctuary cities.
In addition, the secretary of homeland security is ordered to hire 10,000 more immigration officers, create a publicly available weekly list of crimes committed by undocumented immigrants and review previous immigration policies.
The order also creates an office to assist the victims of crimes committed by undocumented immigrants and calls on local and state police to detain or apprehend people in the United States illegally.
Source: NBC News on 2017 Trump Administration promises & actions
, Feb 14, 2017
Amnesty is unfair to people waiting on line for years
Clinton wants to give amnesty, which is a disaster and very unfair to all of the people that are waiting on line for many, many years. We need strong borders. In the audience tonight, we have four mothers whose children have been killed,
brutally killed by people that came into the country illegally. You have thousands of mothers and fathers and relatives all over the country. They're coming in illegally. Drugs are pouring in through the border. We have no country if we have no border.
Source: Third 2016 Presidential Debate in Las Vegas
, Oct 19, 2016
We have some bad hombres here; I'll get them out
I was up in New Hampshire the other day. The single biggest problem is heroin that pours across our southern border. It's just pouring and destroying their youth. It's poisoning the blood of their youth and plenty of other people. We have to have strong
borders. We have to keep the drugs out of our country. We are getting the drugs, they're getting the cash. We need strong borders. We cannot give amnesty. I want to build the wall. We have some bad hombres here, and we're going to get them out.
Source: Third 2016 Presidential Debate in Las Vegas
, Oct 19, 2016
Border agents endorsed me because I understand the border
We have many criminal illegal aliens. When we want to send them back to their country, their country says we don't want them. In some cases, they're murderers and drug lords. And they don't want them. Clinton as secretary of state said "That's OK,
we can't force it into their country." I'm going to force them right back into their country. They're murderers and some very bad people. The Border Patrol agents, 16,500, just recently endorsed me, and they endorsed me because I understand the border.
Source: Second 2016 Presidential Debate at WUSTL in St. Louis MO
, Oct 9, 2016
People pour into US and citizens lose jobs
We're losing our jobs. People are pouring into our country. The other day, we were deporting 800 people.
And perhaps they passed the wrong button, or perhaps worse than that, it was corruption, but these people that we were going to deport for good reason ended up becoming citizens. Now it turns out it might be 1,800, and they don't even know.
Source: First 2016 Presidential Debate at Hofstra University
, Sep 26, 2016
10-point plan: wall; zero tolerance; biometrics; E-Verify
- We will build a great wall along the southern border. And Mexico will pay for it.
- We are going to end catch and release.
- Zero tolerance for criminal aliens. Zero. They don't come in here. We're going to triple the number of ICE
deportation officers. We're also going to hire 5,000 more Border Patrol agents.
- Block funding for sanctuary cities. No more funds.
- Cancel unconstitutional executive orders and enforce all immigration laws.
- Suspend issuance of visas to any
place where adequate screening cannot occur.
- Ensure that other countries take their people back when they are deported.
- We will finally complete the biometric entry-exit visa tracking system which we need desperately. The politicians are all talk,
no action, never happens.
- Turn off the jobs and benefits magnet. We will ensure that E-Verify is used to the fullest extent possible under existing law.
- Reform legal immigration to serve the best interests of America and its workers.
Source: Ballotpedia coverage of Campaign speech in Phoenix Arizona
, Aug 31, 2016
1885: grandfather Friedrich was illegal German emigrant
Friedrich, Donald Trump's grandfather-to-be, was born on March 14, 1869. Friedrich saw no future in Germany & joined the stream of Germans looking for a better life in the US. Friedrich arrived in New York on Oct. 19, 1885. Immigration records list his
occupation as "farmer" and his name as "Friedrich Trump," [Americanizing it from "Drumpf"]. He was sixteen years old.But Friedrich's departure ran afoul of German law. A three-year stint of military service was mandatory, and to emigrate, boys of
conscription age had to get permission. The young barber didn't do so, resulting in a questionable status that would undermine any future prospect of return: Friedrich Trump was an illegal emigrant. Luckily, US officials didn't care about the
circumstances under which he left Germany. US Immigration law at the time granted Germans preferred status. Friedrich was one of about a million Germans who immigrated to the United States in 1885, more than had ever before come in one year.
Source: Trump Revealed, by Michael Kranish & Mark Fisher, p. 23
, Aug 23, 2016
Vatican has massive walls; Pope is wrong about open borders
Trump got into a scuffle with Pope Francis. Aboard his plane after a trip to Mexico, the pontiff had told reporters, "A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian."
Trump heard the comment and "I immediately thought of the Vatican, with the massive walls, and I said, 'Well, wait a minute, he's got the bigger walls, he's got walls like you couldn't even dream of'."
Trump issued a written response calling the pope's words "disgraceful," adding, "If and when the Vatican is attacked by ISIS, which as everyone knows is ISIS's ultimate trophy,
I can promise you that the pope would have only wished and prayed that Donald Trump would have been president."
Source: Trump Revealed, by Michael Kranish & Mark Fisher, p.323
, Aug 23, 2016
We must stop illegal immigration; it hurts us economically
He of the executive order, because nobody wants to listen to him, including the Democrats, so he just goes around signing executive orders. We have to stop illegal immigration.
It's hurting us economically. It's hurting us from every standpoint. It's causing tremendous difficulty with respect to drugs and what that does to our inner cities.
Source: Fox Business/WSJ Second Tier debate
, Nov 10, 2015
351,000 criminal illegal aliens in our prisons
In 2011, the Government Accountability Office reported that there were three million arrests that could be attributed to the incarcerated alien population, including tens of thousands of violent criminals.
There were 351,000 criminal illegal aliens in our prisons--that number does not include the crime of crossing our borders. It costs us more than a billion dollars a year just to keep these people in prison.
I understand that the vast majority of these people are honest, decent, hardworking people who came here to improve their own lives and their children's lives. Nonetheless, illegal immigration has to stop.
A country that can't protect its borders isn't a country. We are the only country in the world whose immigration system places the needs of other nations ahead of our own. There is a word to describe people who do that: fools.
Source: Crippled America, by Donald Trump, p. 21-2
, Nov 3, 2015
Cut off federal funds to sanctuary cities
We have to cut off federal grants to sanctuary cities--those places that refuse to cooperate with federal law enforcement and actually abet criminal behavior--we have to end them. I repeat, we either are a nation of laws or we're not.
We also need to do what is necessary to enforce our visa regulations. People get a visa and come here legally, and when that visa expires, many stay here illegally. If they get caught, nothing happens to them. That's got to change.
Source: Crippled America, by Donald Trump, p. 27
, Nov 3, 2015
I don't care how they come in, if they come in legally
Q: You said about Marco Rubio that he was [Facebook founder] Mark Zuckerberg's personal senator because he was in favor of the H1B visa.TRUMP: I never said that.
Q: So this was an erroneous article the whole way around? My apologies.
Q [after commercial break]: I found where I read that before. It was from the donaldjtrump.com website and it says, "Mark Zuckerburg's personal senator, Marco Rubio has a bill to triple H-1Bs that would decimate women and minorities."
Are you in favor of H-1Bs or are you opposed to them?
TRUMP: I'm in favor of people coming into this country legally. As far as the visas are concerned, if we need people they have--it's fine.
They have to come into this country legally. We have a country of laws. It's fine if they come in, but they have to come in legally.
Source: GOP `Your Money/Your Vote` 2015 CNBC 1st-tier debate
, Oct 28, 2015
We're only country dumb enough for birthright citizenship
Q: You say that babies born in the United States to undocumented immigrants should not any longer get automatic American citizenship; isn't that in the 14th Amendment? TRUMP: The 14th Amendment says very, very clearly to a lot of great legal scholars
that it is wrong. It can be corrected with an act of Congress, but probably doesn't even need that. A woman gets pregnant. She's nine months, she walks across the border, she has the baby in the United States, and we take care of the baby for 85 years?
I don't think so. Mexico--and almost every other country anywhere in the world--doesn't have that. We're the only ones dumb enough, stupid enough to have it. And this is not just with respect to Mexico--people are coming from Asia to have babies here,
and all of a sudden, we have to take care of the babies for the life of the baby. The 14th Amendment [should] go through the Supreme Court, but there are a lot of great legal scholars that say that is not correct.
Source: 2015 Republican two-tiered primary debate on CNN
, Sep 16, 2015
Illegal immigrants populate many criminal gangs
[First], I want to build a wall. Second of all, we have a lot of really bad dudes in this country from outside. They go, if I get elected. Gangs all over the place. We have a country of laws, they're going to go out, and they'll come back if they deserve
to come back. If they've had a bad record, if they've been arrested, if they've been in jail, they're never coming back. Right now, we don't have a country, we don't have a border, and we're going to do something about it.
Source: 2015 Republican two-tiered primary debate on CNN
, Sep 16, 2015
This is a country where we speak English, not Spanish
We have a country, where, to assimilate, you have to speak English. And I think that where he was, and the way it came out didn't sound right to me. We have to have assimilation--to have a country, we have to have assimilation.
I'm not the first one to say this. We've had many people over the years, for many, many years, saying the same thing. This is a country where we speak English, not Spanish.
Source: 2015 Republican two-tiered primary debate on CNN
, Sep 16, 2015
Half of the undocumented residents in America are criminals
What does Donald Trump believe? Immigration: No path to citizenship for undocumented workers. Allow more European immigration and a legal status to those graduating from U.S. colleges.
In his January speech to the Iowa Freedom Summit, Trump called for securing the southern border and indicated that he believes half of the undocumented residents in America are criminals.
In 2013 at CPAC, the businessman said Republicans should block any path to citizenship or voting status for undocumented immigrants but should expand legal immigration from Europe.
In addition, Trump would give a legal status to foreign students who complete a degree at an American university.
Source: PBS News Hour "2016 Candidate Stands" series
, Jun 16, 2015
We need strong borders; we need a wall
Trump knocked former Florida governor Jeb Bush, calling him "weak on immigration." Trump specifically mentioned a view Bush espoused in a 2014 Fox News interview that immigrants cross the U.S.-Mexico border as an "act of love.""We need
strong borders. We need a wall," Trump said, addressing his solutions to the immigration issue. "The king of building buildings, the king of building walls--none of them can build them like Donald Trump."
Source: CBS News on 2015 Conservative Political Action Conf.
, Feb 27, 2015
Citizenship for illegal immigrants is a GOP suicide mission
Donald Trump said the Republican party will lose elections if it reforms the nation's entitlement programs and will hand
Democrats 11 million votes if Congress grants citizenship to illegal immigrants, likening the reform efforts to a "suicide mission."
"The fact is 11 million people will be voting Democratic. You can be out front. You can be the spearhead. You can do whatever you want to do, but every one of those 11 million people will be voting Democratic," he said. "It is just the way it
works.""You have to be very, very careful, because you could say that to a certain extent the odds aren't looking so great for Republicans, that you are on a suicide mission," he said. "You are just not going to get those votes."
Source: 2013 Conservative Political Action Conf. in Washington Times
, Mar 15, 2013
351,000 illegal aliens are in our prisons; costing $1.1B
America's prisons house 351,000 criminal aliens who committed a crime after having already broken the law by entering American illegally.
Making taxpayers pay for 351,000 criminals who should never have been here in the first place is ridiculous. The annual price tag to incarcerate these thugs is $1.1 billion. And get this: criminal aliens have an average of seven arrests.
That's at least seven crimes committed against American citizens by each of these criminals who should never have been allowed to cross our borders.
One out of every three federal prison inmates is a Latino, and three quarters of these are here illegally.
Source: Time to Get Tough, by Donald Trump, p.136
, Dec 5, 2011
Anchor babies were NEVER the intent of the 14th Amendment
The root cause of all the welfare payments to illegal aliens is the so-called "anchor baby" phenomenon, which is when illegal immigrant mothers have a baby on American soil. The child automatically becomes an American citizen,
Though this was NEVER the intention of the Fourteenth Amendment, which states, "All citizens born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and the state wherein they reside."
The clear purpose of the Fourteenth Amendment, ratified in 1868, three years after the end of the
Civil War, was to guarantee full citizenship rights to now emancipated former slaves. It was not intended to guarantee untrammeled immigration to the United States.
Source: Time to Get Tough, by Donald Trump, p.140-141
, Dec 5, 2011
Control borders; even legal immigration should be difficult
America is experiencing serious social and economic difficulty with illegal immigrants who are flooding across our borders. We simply can’t absorb them. It is a scandal when America cannot control its own borders. A liberal policy of immigration may seem
to reflect confidence and generosity. But our current laxness toward illegal immigration shows a recklessness and disregard for those who live here legally. The majority of legal immigrants can often make significant contributions to our society
because they have special skills and because they add to our nation’s cultural diversity. They come with the best of intentions. But legal immigrants do not and should not enter easily. It’s a long, costly, draining, and often frustrating
experience-by design. I say to legal immigrants: Welcome and good luck.
It comes down to this: we must take care of our own people first. Our policy to people born elsewhere should be clear: Enter by the law, or leave.
Source: The America We Deserve, by Donald Trump, p.143-45
, Jul 2, 2000
Donald Trump on Mexico
Restore integrity at borders instead of lawless chaos
My Administration has answered the pleas of the American people for immigration enforcement & border security. By finally enforcing our immigration laws, we will raise wages, help the unemployed, save billions of dollars, and make our communities safer
for everyone. We want all Americans to succeed--but that can't happen in an environment of lawless chaos. We must restore integrity and the rule of law to our borders.For that reason, we will soon begin the construction of a great, great wall along
citizens.
To any in Congress who do not believe we should enforce our laws, I would ask you this question: what would you say to the American family that loses their job or a loved one, because America refused to uphold its laws & defend its borders?
Source: 2017 State of the Union address to Congress
, Feb 28, 2017
Hire 5,000 more Border Patrol agents on Mexican border
Trump signed a burst of executive orders within just his first three weeks to undo many of President Barack Obama's regulatory policies. Here's an overview:Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements: Signed: Jan. 25, 2017
The order is aimed at fulfilling one of Trump's key campaign promises--enhancing border security--by directing federal funding to construction of a wall along the Mexico-U.S. border. It instructs the secretary of homeland security to prepare
congressional budget requests for the wall and to "end the abuse of parole and asylum provisions" that complicate the removal of undocumented immigrants.Other parts of the order call for hiring 5,000 more
Border Patrol agents, building facilities to hold undocumented immigrants near the Mexican border and ending "catch-and-release" protocols, in which immigrants in the United States without documentation are not detained while they await court hearings.
Source: NBC News on 2017 Trump Administration promises & actions
, Feb 14, 2017
We've been badly hurt by Mexico both at the border & on jobs
I think if you saw what happened in Mexico the other day, where I went there, I had great relationships. I let them know where the United States stands. We've been badly hurt by Mexico, both on the border and with taking all of our jobs or a
big percentage of our jobs. Look at the aftermath today where the people that arranged the trip in Mexico have been forced out of government. That's how well we did.
Source: 2016 NBC Commander-in-Chief forum with Matt Lauer
, Sep 7, 2016
We have no borders; and yes, I am angry
I'm very angry because our country is being run horribly and I will gladly accept the mantle of anger. Our military is a disaster. Our healthcare is a horror show. Obamacare, we're going to repeal it and replace it. We have no borders.
Our vets are being treated horribly. Illegal immigration is beyond belief. Our country is being run by incompetent people. And yes, I am angry. And I won't be angry when we fix it, but until we fix it, I'm very angry.
Source: Fox Business Republican 2-tier debate
, Jan 14, 2016
Ship millions back to Mexico, like Eisenhower did
Q: Can we just send 5 million people back with no effect on economy?TRUMP: You are going to have to send people out. Look, we either have a country or we don't have a country. We are a country of laws. [Those who entered illegally are] going to have
to go out and hopefully they get back. But we have no choice if we're going to run our country properly & if we're going to be a country.
KASICH: If people think that we are going to ship 11 million people who are law-abiding, who are in this country,
& somehow pick them up at their house & ship them out to Mexico, think about the families. Think about the children. It's a silly argument. It is not an adult argument. It makes no sense.
TRUMP: Dwight Eisenhower, a great president, moved 1.5 million
illegal immigrants out of this country, moved them just beyond the border. They came back. Moved them again beyond the border, they came back. Didn't like it. Moved them way south. They never came back. They moved 1.5 million out. We have no choice.
Source: Fox Business/WSJ First Tier debate
, Nov 10, 2015
Walls on borders work; just ask Israel
We are a country of laws. We need borders. We will have a wall [on the Mexican border]. The wall will be built. The wall will be successful. And if you think walls don't work, all you have to do is ask Israel. The wall works, believe me. Properly done.
Believe me. [OnTheIssues note: Trump refers to the "separation barrier" that Israel built surrounding the Palestinian areas of the West Bank. It has reduced terrorist attacks, but is controversial in the peace process].
Source: Fox Business/WSJ First Tier debate
, Nov 10, 2015
Mexico will pay for wall, but not through tariffs
Q: You haven't told us how you're going to get Mexico to pay for the wall (on US-Mexico border).TRUMP: I'll tell you right now. We have a trade imbalance of $40 billion, $45 billion with Mexico a year.
We give Mexico billions of dollars a year. The wall is going to cost $6 billion or $7 billion.
Q: So tariffs?
TRUMP: No, I'm not saying that. I'll get Mexico to pay for it one way or the other. I guarantee you that.
Source: Meet the Press 2015 interview moderated by Chuck Todd
, Nov 8, 2015
Building 1,000-mile wall is possible, if we make commitment
Nobody can build a wall like me. I will build a great wall on our southern border. It's probably about 1,000 miles we will need to secure with the new wall. There are people who say it can't be done, that it's not possible to build a wall 1,000
miles long. Except beginning more than 2,000 years ago the Chinese built a wall that eventually stretched almost 13,000 miles that could never be breached.
It was a combination of massive walls, impassible trenches and ditches, and rugged natural terrain, as well as an estimated 25,000 watchtowers. Believe me, our wall- building technology has improved a lot in 2,000 years.
What we don't have that the Chinese had is the commitment to do it. They understood the danger of leaving their border unprotected and they did something about it. We talk about it and do nothing.
Source: Crippled America, by Donald Trump, p. 23-4
, Nov 3, 2015
I can get Mexico to pay for border wall; politicians can't
Q: You're promising to build a wall and make another country pay for it?TRUMP: Right. We're going to build the wall; we're going to create a border. We're going to let people in, but they're going to come in legally. They are going to come in legally.
And it's something that can be done. They built The Great Wall of China. That's 13,000 miles. Here, we actually need 1,000, because we have natural barriers. We can do a wall.
We're going to have a big, fat beautiful door right in the middle of the wall. We are going to have people come in, but they are coming in legally. And Mexico is going to pay for the wall, because Mexico--I love the Mexican people,
I respect the Mexican leaders, but the leaders are much sharper, smarter and more cunning than our leaders. And people say, "Oh, how are you going to get Mexico to pay?" A politician cannot get them to pay. I can.
Source: GOP `Your Money/Your Vote` 2015 CNBC 1st-tier debate
, Oct 28, 2015
The border wall will be well-managed and built correctly
Q: How is a Mexican wall even feasible?TRUMP: I'm telling you, it's called management. You can do this and we can expedite the good immigrants to come back in. And everybody wants that. But they have to come in legally. We have
to be a country of laws and borders. We have wonderful Border Patrol people, but they're not allowed to do their job. I will get the best people to build this wall and we will do it properly and we will do it humanely and get the good ones back in.
Source: ABC This Week 2015 interviews of 2016 presidential hopefuls
, Aug 23, 2015
We need wall on Mexican border, but ok to have a door in it
Q: You say that the Mexican government is sending criminals--rapists, drug dealers--across the border. TRUMP: If it weren't for me, you wouldn't even be talking about illegal immigration.
This was not a subject that was on anybody's mind until I brought it up at my announcement.
The fact is, since then, many killings, murders, crime, drugs are pouring across the border, our money going out and the drugs coming in. And I said we need to build a wall, and it has to be built quickly.
And I don't mind having a big beautiful door in that wall so that people can come into this country legally. But we need to build a wall, we need to keep illegals out.
Source: Fox News/Facebook Top Ten First Tier debate transcript
, Aug 6, 2015
Mexican government is sending criminals across the border
Q: You have repeatedly said that you have evidence that the Mexican government is sending criminals across the border, but you have refused or declined to share it. Could you share your proof?
TRUMP: Border Patrol people that I talk to, they say this is what's happening. Because our leaders are stupid.
And the Mexican government is much smarter, much sharper, much more cunning. And they send the bad ones over because they don't want to pay for them. They don't want to take care of them.
Why should they when the stupid leaders of the United States will do it for them? And that's what is happening whether you like it or not.
Source: Fox News/Facebook Top Ten First Tier debate transcript
, Aug 6, 2015
Building a wall will save money because it stops bad dudes
Q: Assuming President Trump is able to stop the flow of illegal immigration through building a wall or some parts of a wall, what do you think should be done with the estimated 11 million undocumented workers and their families already here?
Would you be open-minded about a path to citizenship? A: First of all--we have to stop it. We can do that with combinations of walls and Border Patrol. And it won't cost the kind of money--in fact, we will save money, because people that are coming
in here that shouldn't be coming in here illegally. We have some really bad dudes right here in this country, and we're getting them out and we're sending them back to where they came from.
And I don't mean Mexico; they come from all over. We have some real bad ones, and they're in our prisons that we're paying for.
Source: CNN SOTU 2015 interview series: 2016 presidential hopefuls
, Jul 26, 2015
OpEd: businesses & Republicans condemn anti-Mexico terms
Trump released a statement restating the controversial comments he made almost three weeks ago when he announced he was running for president: "What can be simpler or more accurately stated? The Mexican Government is forcing their most unwanted people
into the United States. They are, in many cases, criminals, drug dealers, rapists, etc.," Trump's statement said. Trump's comments have resulted in the termination of a number of his business relationships, but it wasn't until the past week that fellow
Republican candidates began to forcefully condemn his comments.Former Gov. George Pataki (R-NY) laid out what he calls are "practical" policy solutions for the issue of securing the southern U.S. border, as well as what to do with the millions of
illegal immigrants already living in the country. Trump "has tapped into a chord of people who do not want to see millions of people come here illegally, but that does not justify demonizing an entire group of people," said Pataki. .
Source: CNN.com 2015 coverage of 2016 presidential hopefuls
, Jul 6, 2015
Make Mexico pay for wall with severe economics
Q: Why do we need a wall?A: You have people coming through the border that are from all over. And they're bad. I'm talking about people that are from all over that are killers and rapists.
Q: How exactly are you going to get Mexico to pay for
building a wall?
A: You force them because we give Mexico a fortune.
Q: So you would cut off business or impose tariffs unless they built the wall?
A: I would do something very severe unless they contributed or gave us the money to build the wall.
Source: CNN SOTU 2015 interview series: 2016 presidential hopefuls
, Jun 28, 2015
Mexico & Latin America send us drugs, crime, and rapists
Mexico is beating us economically. They are not our friend, believe me. But they're killing us economically. The U.S. has become a dumping ground for everybody else's problems.When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best.
They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems. They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists.
And some, I assume, are good people. But I speak to border guards and they tell us what we're getting. And it only makes common sense. They're sending us not the right people.
It's coming from more than Mexico. It's coming from all over South and
Latin America, and it's coming probably--probably--from the Middle East. But we don't know. Because we have no protection and we have no competence, we don't know what's happening. And it's got to stop and it's got to stop fast.
Source: 2015 announcement speeches of 2016 presidential hopefuls
, Jun 16, 2015
Build great wall on southern border; have Mexico pay for it
I would build a great wall, and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me, and I'll build them very inexpensively,
I will build a great, great wall on our southern border. And I will have Mexico pay for that wall.
Source: 2015 announcement speeches of 2016 presidential hopefuls
, Jun 16, 2015
Triple-layered fence & Predator drones on Mexican border
I am impressed with the success of the double- and triple-layered fence in places like Yuma, Arizona. The wall there is a serious 20-foot wall. It has three walls separated by 75-yard "no man's lands" for border agents to zoom up and down in vehicles.
It also has cameras, radio systems, radar, and pole-topped lights. After the triple-layered fence was installed, the 120-mile stretch of the US-Mexican border known as the Yuma sector experienced a 72 percent plunge in illegal immigrant apprehensions.
We need to be ready to build other kinds of fences, too. The point is that properly built walls work. We just need the political will to finish the job. And by the way, finishing the job will employ a lot of construction workers. Moreover, I call on
Congress and the president to hire another 25,000 border patrol agents and give them the aerial equipment they need, such as Predator drones, to provide real-time aerial reconnaissance information to agents guarding the border wall.
Source: Time to Get Tough, by Donald Trump, p.146-147
, Dec 5, 2011
Donald Trump on Visa Rules
Replace visa lottery with merit-based system
TRUMP: [My immigration package] ends the visa lottery--a program that randomly hands out green cards without any regard for skill, merit, or the safety of our people. It is time to begin moving towards a merit-based immigration system--one that admits
people who are skilled, who want to work, who will contribute to our society, and who will love and respect our country.Christian Science Monitor explanation:The president & his supporters appear to be defining merit as highly skilled,
well-educated immigrants who speak English and can support themselves. But what about strawberry pickers? Those jobs are commonly performed by low-skilled immigrants. The administration points to countries such as Canada and Australia that have supply-
oriented policies. These countries have long used point systems to qualify applicants, assigning them points for education, working age, employment, language, & other skills that determine their likelihood of assimilation and contribution to the economy.
Source: Christian Science Monitor on 2018 State of the Union address
, Jan 30, 2018
Close deadly loopholes that allow in gangs like MS-13
For decades, open borders have allowed drugs and gangs to pour into our most vulnerable communities. They have caused the loss of many innocent lives.Tonight, I am calling on the Congress to finally close the deadly loopholes that have allowed MS-13,
and other criminals, to break into our country. We have proposed new legislation that will fix our immigration laws, and support our ICE and Border Patrol Agents.
[OnTheIssues note: MS-13, or Mara Salvatrucha, is an international criminal gang based
Source: 2018 State of the Union address
, Jan 30, 2018
Fact-check: End chain migration? It can't actually happen
[My immigration plan] protects the nuclear family by ending chain migration. Under the current broken system, a single immigrant can bring in virtually unlimited numbers of distant relatives. Under our plan, we focus on the immediate family by limiting
sponsorships to spouses and minor children. Politico.com Fact-Check: Family reunification has been the basis for immigration since 1965. Under this law, if you marry that guy you met while working in Shanghai, you can bring him home.
And his 2-year-old. And when you'd like his parents to help with child care, you can bring them in too, after a few years. If we had a family immigration system without limits, this structure could theoretically lead to the dreaded chain migration. That
Chinese spouse can petition for his sister, and her family, and so on. But the immigration system's waiting lists make chain migration a theory that doesn't really happen in practice. This is because each link in the chain takes years to complete. \
Source: Politico.com FactCheck on 2018 State of the Union address
, Jan 26, 2018
Revamp H-1B from just a cheap labor program
President Trump is set to sign an executive order on April 18, ordering agencies to revamp the H-1B visa program. The executive order will make it harder for tech companies to replace American workers with cheaper foreign labor. Although Trump
vacillated on the question of whether he supported the H-1B visa program as a candidate, he said repeatedly that he wanted American firms and American workers to carry out federal projects. The executive order prepares to make good on that promise.
Trump, who campaigned on an "America First" ideology, had promised to "end forever the use of the H-1B as a cheap labor program." His executive order would require the agencies to perform administrative reviews immediately and propose reforms to ensure
that the H-1B visas are awarded to the most skilled and highest paid workers, officials said.
Indian outsourcing firms currently receive the lion's share of the visas because they submit tens of thousands of applications to increase their chances.
Source: Washington Post on Trump Administration promises
, Apr 17, 2017
Revamp guest-worker program, even those used in Trump hotels
Administration officials said Trump will direct the Departments of Labor, Justice, State, and Homeland Security to crack down on fraud and abuse in guest-worker programs by issuing new immigration rules. White House officials singled out the
H-1B visa for "high-skilled" foreigners in the science and engineering industries as the priority for reform, but said a comprehensive review could lead to changes in other guest worker programs, including visas Trump's own company uses for foreign
workers at his hotels, golf courses and vineyard.
The officials said reform could first come through administrative changes, such as raising the visa application fees, adjusting the wage scale to more accurately reflect prevailing salaries in the tech
industry, and more vigorously enforcing violations. It could also change the lottery system to give foreigners with U.S. master's degrees a leg up. The current worker visa program has been diluted as rules have gone unenforced, the officials said.
Source: Washington Post on Trump Administration promises
, Apr 17, 2017
Merit-based immigration system instead of lower skills
Protecting our workers means reforming our system of legal immigration. The current, outdated system depresses wages for our poorest workers, & puts great pressure on taxpayers.Nations around the world, like Canada, Australia and many others--have a
merit-based immigration system. It is a basic principle that those seeking to enter a country ought to be able to support themselves financially. Yet, in America, we do not enforce this rule, straining the very public resources that our poorest citizens
rely upon.
Switching away from this current system of lower-skilled immigration, and instead adopting a merit-based system, will have many benefits: it will save countless dollars, raise workers' wages, & help struggling families--including immigrant
families--enter the middle class.
I believe that real & positive immigration reform is possible, as long as we focus on the following goals: to improve jobs & wages for Americans, to strengthen our nation's security, & to restore respect for our laws.
Source: 2017 State of the Union address to Congress
, Feb 28, 2017
Let college grads stay but H-1B only if jobs can't be filled
Q: Would you support any changes in immigration policy regarding scientists and engineers who receive their graduate degree at an American university? TRUMP: The issues brought up in your question are exactly what we should be addressing in
immigration reform. If we allow individuals in this country legally to get their educations, we should let them stay if they want to contribute to our economy. It makes no sense to kick them out of the country right after they achieve such extraordinary
goals.
Q: What is your opinion of recent controversy over employment and the H1-B Visa program?
TRUMP: We cannot allow companies to abuse this system. When we have American citizens and those living in the
United States legally being pushed out of high paying jobs so that they can be replaced with "cheaper" labor, something is wrong. The H1-B system should be employed only when jobs cannot be filled with qualified Americans and legal residents.
Source: ScienceDebate.org: 20 questions for 2016 presidential race
, Oct 9, 2016
I take advantage of H-1B visas; but stop them
Q: Your critics say your campaign platform is inconsistent with how you run your businesses, noting that you've brought in foreign workers instead of hiring Americans. Why should voters trust that you will run the country differently from how you run
your businesses?TRUMP: Because nobody knows the system better than me. I know the H-1B. I know the H-2B. Nobody knows it better than me. I'm a businessman. These are laws. These are rules. We're allowed to do it. So I will take advantage of it;
they're the laws. But I'm the one that knows how to change it.
Q: So what would you do with H-1B visas?
TRUMP: It's something that I frankly use and I shouldn't be allowed to use it. We shouldn't have it. Very, very bad for workers. And second of
all, I think it's very important to say, well, I'm a businessman and I have to do what I have to do. When it's sitting there waiting for you, but it's very bad. It's very bad for our workers and it's unfair for our workers. And we should end it.
Source: 2016 GOP primary debate in Miami
, Mar 10, 2016
Let the good ones come back in; that's not amnesty
CRUZ: The people that get forgotten in this debate over immigration are the hardworking men and women of this country, millions of Americans who are losing their jobs. We have always welcomed legal immigrants, but
I think it is a mistake to forgive those who break the law to allow them to become U.S. citizens, and that's why I've led the fight against granting citizenship to those here illegally.
TRUMP: We have at least 11 million people that came in illegally. They will go out. Some will come back, the best, through a process.
They have to come back legally. It may not be a quick process, but I think that's fair. They're going to get in line with other people.
Source: 2016 CNN-Telemundo Republican debate on eve of Texas primary
, Feb 25, 2016
No apology for banning Muslims from entering America
Q: Your comments about banning Muslims from entering the country created a firestorm. Is there anything you've heard that makes you want to rethink this position?TRUMP: No. (APPLAUSE) Look, we have to stop with political correctness. We have to get
down to creating a country that's not going to have the kind of problems that we've had with people flying planes into the World Trade Centers, with the shootings in California, with all the problems all over the world.
We have to find out what's going on [with Muslim immigrants]. I said temporarily. I didn't say permanently. And I have many great Muslim friends. And some of them, I will say, not all, have called me and said, "Donald, thank
you very much; you're exposing an unbelievable problem and we have to get to the bottom of it." We have a serious problem. And we can't be the stupid country any more. We're laughed at all over the world.
Source: Fox Business 2016 Republican 2-tier debate
, Jan 14, 2016
It's not fear of terrorist refugees; it's reality
It's not fear and terror, it's reality. When I look at the migration, I looked at the line, I said, where are the women? It looked like very few women.
Very few children. Strong, powerful men, and people are looking at that and they're saying what's going on? We can't let people come into our country and break our borders.
Source: Fox Business Republican 2-tier debate
, Jan 14, 2016
Need to keep database of Muslim refugees
Q: You did stir up a controversy with those comments about a database for all US Muslims--but are you now unequivocally now ruling out a database on all Muslims?
TRUMP: No, not at all. I want a database for the refugees that come into the country. We have no idea who these people are.
When the Syrian refugees are going to start pouring into this country, we don't know if they're ISIS, we don't know if it's a Trojan horse.
And I definitely want a database and other checks and balances.
We want to go with watchlists.
Q: Just for the record, though, the statistics do show the majority of the refugees coming in are women and children.
Source: ABC This Week 2015 interview on Syrian Refugee crisis
, Nov 22, 2015
Syrian refugees are a Trojan Horse
Q: Does the U.S. get involved in making a safe zone for Syrian refugees?TRUMP: I would help them economically, even though we owe $19 trillion. What I won't do is take in 200,000 Syrians who could be ISIS. I have been watching this migration.
They're mostly men, and they're strong men. They look like prime-time soldiers. Now, it's probably not true, but where are the women? You see some women. You see some children.
But for the most part, I'm looking at these strong men. So, you ask two things. Number one, why aren't they fighting for their country? And, number two, I don't want these people coming over here.
Two hundred thousand people? This could be the greatest Trojan horse. This could make the Trojan horse look like peanuts if these people turned out to be a lot of ISIS.
Source: CBS Face the Nation 2015 interview on Syrian Refugee crisis
, Oct 11, 2015
Syrian refugee crisis partly our fault; but don't take any
Q: A few weeks back, you said we'd have to take some Syrian refugees in on humanitarian grounds. But just this week you seemed to reverse it. What changed?TRUMP: I saw the migration and it seems like so many men. There aren't that many women or childr
It looked like mostly men and they looked like strong men.
Q: Half the refugees are children.
TRUMP: We don't know where they're coming from. We don't know who they are. They could be ISIS. I understand the whole thing with migration.
It's a horrible thing. It should have never happened in the first place. We screwed up the Middle East so badly, with breaking up Iraq. We have so destabilized the Middle East. So I said there's no way they come in. If they do come in,
if I win for president, they're going out.
Q: Even the kids?
TRUMP: Look, Europe should take some probably, because you have the Gulf States, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar--some of the richest countries and they're not taking any in.
Source: ABC This Week 2015 interview on Syrian Refugee crisis
, Oct 4, 2015
Invite foreigners graduating from college to stay in US
Our country's leaders are just so plan stupid. As an example, foreign students come over to our colleges, learn everything there is to learn about physics, finance, mathematics, and computers, and graduate with honors. They would love to stay in this
country, but we don't allow them to. We immediately ship them back to their country to use all of the knowledge they learned at the best colleges in the United States back in their country rather than keep it here in ours.
When we have gifted people in this country we should cherish them and let them stay. But instead we fling our arms wide open to the lowlifes, the criminals, the people who have no intention to contribute to our country.
Wouldn't it be better if we
invited foreign student graduating from our colleges to stay to build American companies, instead of foreign companies that will be wreaking havoc against Boeing, Caterpillar, and many other of our great American companies in the future?
Source: Time to Get Tough, by Donald Trump, p.145
, Dec 5, 2011
Limit new immigration; focus on people already here
Trump was firm concerning restrictions in immigration. “I’m opposed to new people coming in,” he said. “We have to take care of the people who are here.”
Source: nytimes.com/library/politics
, Dec 10, 1999
Supports additional border infrastructure.
Trump supports the CC survey question on Border Infrastructure
The Christian Coalition Voter Guide inferred whether candidates agree or disagree with the statement, 'Increase Border Security Including Additional Infrastructures'
The Christian Coalition notes, "You can help make sure that voters have the facts BEFORE they cast their votes. We have surveyed candidates in the most competitive congressional races on the issues that are important to conservatives, but now we need you
Source: Christian Coalition Survey 16_CC12 on Nov 8, 2016
Page last updated: Mar 03, 2018
