Trump ready to ‘seal’ border from immigrants on Day 1

President-elect Trump is signaling he wants to completely reshape the nation’s immigration laws starting Jan. 20, the day he officially takes office. Immigration has always been Trump’s core issue, and he has made clear he plans to follow through on sweeping promises he made on the topic throughout the 2024 campaign. He’s announced appointments on immigration that reinforce those intentions, and he signaled in a weekend interview he intends to push for mass deportations and an end to birthright citizenship. While much of what Trump will try to do will be through executive action, allies have also indicated they will push for Republicans in Congress to prioritize border security measures and changes to immigration law as part of a budget reconciliation package in the early weeks of Trump’s second term. It underscores how Trump enters office with a clearer vision and plan for carrying out policy than his first term, and his allies have argued he also has a clear mandate for taking sweeping action. “They seem to have a plan in place for when they assume office, and there’s every expectation they are going to carry it out,” said Ira Mehlman, media director with the Federation for American Immigration Reform, a group that advocates for stricter immigration laws. “They have some experience. They have four years under their belt,” Mehlman added. “And they’ve put in place people like Tom Homan who really understand the issue and how to deal with it. This term he begins with an American public that understands what the consequences of having an open border are.” Sign up for the Morning Report The latest in politics and policy. Direct to your inbox. Email address By signing up, I agree to the Terms of Use, have reviewed the Privacy Policy, and to receive personalized offers and communications via email, on-site notifications, and targeted advertising using my email address from The Hill, Nexstar Media Inc., and its affiliates Trump’s key appointees on immigration — Stephen Miller as deputy chief of staff, Homan as border czar — have maintained a frequent presence on cable television in recent days to outline their vision for how the incoming administration will enact a sweeping crackdown on immigration. Miller, in a Sunday interview with Fox News, predicted Republicans in Congress could get a budget reconciliation bill to Trump’s desk by the end of January or early February. The reconciliation package, which would not require Democratic support, would include increases in funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as it carries out mass deportations, more money for barriers and technology at the border and an increase in the number of border agents. Additionally, Trump is expected to sign a slew of executive orders on his first day in office. One, Miller said, would effectively “seal the border.” “This is something that Republicans have been talking about for decades, but with Donald Trump, this is something that is going to happen,” Miller said, touting it as “the most important and significant domestic policy achievement in half a century.” Trump allies have in recent days increasingly signaled optimism that Republicans can move quickly on a reconciliation package that focuses on investments in border security while addressing tax cuts in a second piece of legislation later in the year. Tax cuts Trump signed into law in 2017 are set to expire in the fall of 2025. But advisers to the president-elect argued it will take more time for Republican lawmakers to get on the same page and work out the details of tax legislation. “Keep in mind that with the tax cuts, we had a lot of new promises that were made on the campaign trail that we have to incorporate,” Jason Miller, a senior adviser to Trump, said in a recent interview. Trump on the campaign trail called for a lower corporate tax rate, as well as the elimination of taxes on overtime, tipped wages and Social Security benefits. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a staunch Trump ally who is slated to lead the Senate Budget Committee beginning in January, said his top priority would be “to secure a broken border” through the reconciliation process. “The bill will be transformational, it will be paid for, and it will go first,” Graham posted on the social platform X. Trump made clear during an interview with “Meet the Press” that his vow to deport millions of individuals in the country illegally and, more broadly, reshape the immigration system, was not idle talk on the campaign trail. “You have no choice. First of all, they’re costing us a fortune. But we’re starting with the criminals, and we’ve got to do it. And then we’re starting with others, and we’re going to see how it goes,” Trump said. The president-elect echoed comments from Homan, saying families with mixed immigration status could be deported together to avoid being separated. Trump said he still intends to end birthright citizenship, something he previously listed as a task for his first day in office, and he is expected to resume construction of a wall along the southern border. Trump did signal an openness to finding a way for Dreamers, people who were illegally brought to the U.S. at a young age, to stay in the United States. Homan has since suggested a legislative solution for Dreamers would require Democratic concessions on border security measures. Immigration advocacy groups are expected to push back hard against mass deportation efforts, and there will certainly be legal challenges to any attempt by Trump to unilaterally end birthright citizenship. Democratic governors in Illinois, California and elsewhere have signaled they are prepared to fight Trump’s policies in court. Homan, speaking at a GOP event in Chicago on Monday, said the city’s mayor should either help federal efforts to deport immigrants in the country illegally who have further criminal records, or “get the hell out of the way.” In a sign of how the fight over immigration policy may play out in the years to come, the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday held a hearing on the potential consequences of mass deportations. GOP witnesses included Patty Morin, the mother of Rachel Morin, a young woman who was allegedly killed by a man who entered the country illegally. Democratic witnesses cited concerns about the separation of families and ramifications for the economy, as millions of workers in the agricultural industry and other areas could be targeted for deportation. “It would cost hundreds of billions of dollars to deport every undocumented immigrant in our country,” Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), chair of the committee, said at the hearing. “It would damage our economy and separate American families. Instead, we should focus on deporting those who are truly a danger to America, and we should give the rest a chance to earn legal status.” For more information, visit us at https://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/.