Here’s how Republicans should follow through with their tough talk on immigration
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Each day Republican leadership debates about how, and when, to proceed with the budget reconciliation process is another day the American people are forced to wait for President Trump’s agenda to kick into high gear.
Americans need our leaders to act with the urgency that this moment demands. The safety and security of Americans must be placed first.
The number one priority for Congress right now must be to ensure that every illegal alien who has invaded our country is detained and deported or leaves quickly on their own accord.
Congress must help the administration track, arrest, detain and deport all 20 million illegal aliens that the American people elected Trump to evict. (Reuters)
Trump’s team, led by Border Czar Tom Homan, is ready to do its job. During Trump’s first term, ICE removed illegal aliens at a rate of 32% of the aggregate number of encounters, but that rate fell to 3.5% under President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
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Congress now needs to throw its full support behind the administration so that they can track, arrest, detain and deport all 20 million illegal aliens that the American people elected Trump to evict.
Conducting the largest deportation operation in American history will require Congress to take more action – and provide ICE with funds on a historic scale.
Implementing Trump’s plan will require ICE to have at least 100,000 detention beds, 12,000 more ICE agents, 4,000 more OPLA attorneys, 1,000 EOIR immigration judges, and 1,000 ICE mission support staff to help expand air operations and handle higher levels of turnover in deportation facilities.
Democrats will try to make the price tag seem like too high a cost to pay, but in the past four years they have spent billions on non-governmental organizations to facilitate bringing millions of illegal aliens here. Repurposing NGO funds for immigration enforcement and cutting state and federal welfare subsidies for illegal aliens will save Americans even more money annually.
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Plus, America’s sovereignty and every American life is priceless. If any representative disagrees, then Heritage Action is going to make sure that they explain why to their constituents.
In addition to funding ICE on a historic scale, Congress also has a crucial role to play when it comes to putting pressure on illegal aliens to self-deport. A good place to start would be cracking down on employers who hire illegal aliens instead of paying Americans an honest wage.
Requiring businesses to use an electronic verification system to confirm their employees’ work eligibility would largely fix this problem, but if some illegal aliens slipped through the cracks, Congress has still more tools at its disposal.
An unused tool is Congress’s ability to tax remittances, the money illegal aliens earn in America and then send back to their home country. According to the Federation for American Immigration Reform, our country loses more than $150 billion annually in remittances – which is roughly equivalent to the annual output of America’s entire mining industry (excluding oil and gas).
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To disincentivize illegal aliens from remaining here, Congress should pass a law that requires money transfer services to demand proof of legal status or face a 50% tax on any outgoing transfers. This tax revenue can then be repurposed toward deportation operations or finishing the border wall.
Another tool that would save Americans money and incentivize illegal aliens to leave our country is Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Congressman Chip Roy’s, R-Texas, America First Act, which would permanently prevent aliens from accessing America’s welfare benefits.
Last year, the Center for Immigration Studies estimated that illegal aliens received $42 billion in benefits paid for by American taxpayers in 2021 alone. Since then, the Biden administration has allowed millions more illegal aliens into our country, which means that figure has almost certainly increased.
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In July 2024, the Congressional Budget Office released a score finding that the Biden administration’s failure to secure the border will increase America’s debt to the tune of $300 billion over the next 10 years because of alien access to federal welfare programs.
And this doesn’t even account for the billions in taxpayer dollars that go to support the tremendous burden illegal immigrants put on other state and local resources like public schools. With that in mind, Congress should also require school districts to collect enrollment data by immigration status and pass legislation that requires public schools to charge tuition for illegal alien children.
Finally, Congress should pass a law that requires American banks to confirm an applicant’s legal status before issuing a home loan. No illegal alien should be able to live out the American dream of owning a home when so many of our fellow citizens can hardly afford to pay the rent.
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If aliens can’t get a job, can’t send money back to their families, can’t access welfare, can’t send their children to schools for free, and can’t buy a home, then many of them will leave on their own. This will make ICE’s job easier and save Americans even more money.
Republicans in Congress loved to beat the drum for border security and mass deportation when they were raising money on the campaign trail. Now, it is time for them to follow through and put Americans first.
