President Trump promised mass deportations. Here’s how it will help Americans

President Trump promised Americans that he would launch the largest deportation operation in American history, and that operation has begun. Last week, officers of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) took to the streets over two busy days, arresting more than 1,000 aliens, mostly criminals, who are now on the path to removal.  

Among the targets were murderers, sex offenders, and a Haitian gang member with 17 convictions, whose arrest in Boston went viral as a Fox News camera recorded him defiantly cursing Trump and thanking former president Obama “for everything he did for me.” This guy also should have thanked Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, who has promoted sanctuary policies, spent extravagantly on hotel rooms and other services for new arrivals, and vowed to resist federal deportation actions.

It’s no coincidence that many of the places where ICE took action were notorious sanctuary jurisdictions, including New York City, Newark, NJ, San Francisco, Chicago and Utah. These policies result in the release of criminal aliens, forcing ICE to arrest their targets (and other illegal aliens found with them) in the community. The message was unmistakable – under Trump, criminal aliens can be released and run, but they can’t hide forever. They will no longer be protected by federal inaction. There was a message for sanctuaries too. As ICE teams were fanning out, federal prosecutors got a memo reminding them that sanctuary policies often violate federal law, and to be alert to situations of egregious obstruction of enforcement.  

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In response, migrant advocacy groups have mobilized, hosting know-your-rights trainings for illegal aliens and press conferences to denounce the ICE actions.  Some have set up crowd-sourced apps to track ICE sightings and possible “raid” locations. Administrators at a Chicago public elementary school rushed to alert news media that their staff had prevented ICE from entering (to arrest a child, they assumed) only to learn later that it was actually the Secret Service investigating personal security concerns for a VIP.

Anti-enforcement groups are counting on public support for aggressive interior enforcement waning as soon as ICE works through the “worst first” docket of violent criminal aliens, or when someone can catch an ICE officer on video cuffing an allegedly-harmless target near a playground or church. 

That’s wishful thinking. Voters have shown strong signs of migration fatigue, after having to absorb roughly eight million new arrivals in four years, most of whom crossed illegally and should have been removed instead of allowed to resettle with the government’s help. They’ve watched in frustration as billions of their hard-earned tax dollars have been spent on hotel rooms, meals, medical care, schooling, and other services for new arrivals, starving programs for needy locals.  Law-abiding business owners have tired of being undercut by employers hiring (and often exploiting) illegal workers.  

Last week’s flurry of activity was just a warm-up for future actions, because ICE will need to double the pace of interior enforcement to repair the damage wrought by the Biden policies.

This is doable, especially now that illegal border crossings are down to a trickle. Military assets have arrived to shore up the land border and carry out deportation flights. ICE special agents who previously worked on returning stolen antiquities and counterfeit NFL jerseys took part in the round-ups, presenting a unified front to the public. Agents from the U.S. Marshals, DEA, and ATF also pitched in.

The job is too big for the feds to do alone. State and local law enforcement agencies need to get in on the action. The president has the authority to deputize state and local officers for immigration enforcement, either on an emergency basis when a migration event threatens public safety, or on a regular basis, if state or local agencies request it, and he is ready to use it.

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Several states, including Florida, Texas and Tennessee have pledged to help on a larger scale. Gov. Ron DeSantis is asking Florida lawmakers to appropriate $350 million to assist with deportations. Lawmakers in Texas and Arizona have filed bills to mandate active local partnerships with ICE. Such teamwork, whether in the jails, in the form of task forces, on the border, or even on the high seas will be invaluable in combatting smuggling and trafficking, locating criminals, dismantling transnational gangs, finding the hundreds of thousands of lost unaccompanied minors, or even exposing employers who are skirting hiring and tax laws. Congress should earmark funding to support them.  

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While there has to be some increased spending to boost enforcement in the short run, the return on investment will be large, and will come in the form of safer communities and less spending on services to migrants. The public further understands that increased deportations will be accompanied by more voluntary repatriations. When the millions of work permits improperly granted by Biden expire, and employers realize they cannot get away with hiring unauthorized workers, many who came illegally will weigh the benefits and risks of remaining, and realize that the better choice is to return to their home countries, along with their families and whatever nest egg they have accumulated.

Trump will have to endure a relentless media narrative that the “mass deportations” are cruel, but Americans and legal immigrants welcome the relief. Curtailing illegal migration will open up jobs for millions of side-lined U.S. workers, just as it did after the last major pause in immigration 100 years ago. It will also preserve scarce public resources for investment in American communities instead of NGO resettlement programs. In recent years, our immigration system has served mainly the needs of migrants and certain employers and politicians. The restoration of limits helps ensure that our immigration policy serves the national interest.