WASHINGTON: Republican former US president Donald Trump has promised to crack down on illegal immigration and restrict legal immigration if elected to a second four-year term on Nov 5.

Here are some of the policies under consideration, according to Trump, his campaign and news reports:

Border enforcement

Trump has said he would restore his 2019 “remain in Mexico” programme, which forced non-Mexican asylum-seekers attempting to enter the United States at the southern border to wait in Mexico for the resolution of their cases. The programme was terminated by President Joe Biden, a Democrat who ended his faltering reelection campaign on Sunday and instead endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris. Biden defeated Trump in 2020, pledging more humane and orderly immigration policies, but struggled with record levels of migrants caught crossing the US-Mexico border illegally.

Trump also would reinstate the Covid-19-era Title 42 policy, which allowed US border authorities to quickly expel migrants back to Mexico without the chance to claim asylum, he told Time magazine in an interview.

He would use record border crossings and trafficking of fentanyl and children as reasons for the emergency moves, Time reported, citing comments from advisers.

Trump has said he will seek to detain all migrants caught crossing the border illegally or violating other immigration laws, ending what he calls “catch and release.” Trump focused on building a wall on the US-Mexico border during his first term and has pledged to close gaps in the border wall if reelected. His administration built 450 miles (725 km) of barriers across the 1,954-mile (3,145-km) border, but much of that replaced existing structures. Trump criticised a new Biden asylum ban rolled out in June and pledged to reverse it during a campaign event in Arizona.

Trump said the measure would not adequately secure the border, even though it mirrored Trump-era policies to deter would-be migrants. Trump also said at the campaign event that he would consider using tariffs to pressure China and other nations to stop migrants from their countries from coming to the US-Mexico border.

Mass deportations

Trump has pledged to launch the largest deportation effort in US history, focusing on criminals but aiming to send millions back to their home countries. Trump told Time he did not rule out building new migrant detention camps but “there wouldn’t be that much of a need for them” because migrants would be rapidly removed.

Trump would rely on the National Guard, if needed, to arrest and deport immigrants in the US illegally, he said. When questioned, he also said he would be willing to consider using federal troops if necessary, a step likely to be challenged in the courts.

Trump has also vowed to take aggressive new steps to deport immigrants with criminal records and suspected gang members by using the little-known 1789 Alien Enemies Act.

Stephen Miller, the architect of Trump’s first-term immigration agenda, said in an interview last year with a right-wing podcast that National Guard troops from cooperative states could potentially be deployed to what he characterized as “unfriendly” states to assist with deportations, which could trigger legal battles.

Biden in 2023 outpaced Trump deportation totals for any single year and is on pace for even more this year.

Travel bans

Trump has said he would implement travel bans on people from certain countries or with certain ideologies, expanding on a policy upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018. Trump previewed some parts of the world that could be subjected to a renewed travel ban in an October 2023 speech, pledging to restrict people from the Gaza Strip, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen and “anywhere else that threatens our security.”

During the speech, Trump focused on the conflict in Gaza, saying he would bar the entry of immigrants who support the group Hamas and send deportation officers to pro-Hamas protests.

Trump said last June he would seek to block communists, Marxists and socialists from entering the United States.

Legal immigration

Trump said last year that he would seek to end automatic citizenship for children born in the US to immigrants living in the country illegally, an idea he flirted with as president. Such an action would run against the long-running interpretation of an amendment to the US Constitution and would likely trigger legal challenges.

During his first term, Trump greatly reduced the number of refugees allowed into the US and has criticised Biden’s decision to increase admissions.

Published in Dawn, July 23rd, 2024