Trump takes first crack at immigration

WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump took his first steps toward restructuring U.S. immigration policy today, signing executive orders to begin planning a border wall and ramping up deportations.

While visiting the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the agency tasked with carrying out immigration orders, Trump said this was only the start of his plans to secure the southern border and overhaul policies from the Obama administration.

“This is border security. We’ve been talking about this from the beginning. This is going to bring it over the top,“ Trump said this afternoon.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer told reporters today the orders would also begin work to end sanctuary cities. He said the executive action would take away grant funding from cities that shelter illegal immigrants.

Immigration was one of Trump’s go-to issues on the campaign trail. He often spoke of forcing Mexico to pay for a large border wall, deporting illegal immigrants, and restricting the number of refugees who enter the United States because of terrorism concerns.

The executive orders begin the process of building a wall at the border. Spicer referred to it today as a “large physical barrier.” Trump said today in an interview with ABC News he will begin construction on the wall as soon as possible, even if Mexico will still not agree to pay for it. He said if that happened, the United States would “absolutely” receive reimbursement for its upfront costs.

“One way or another, as the president has said before, Mexico will pay for it,“ Spicer said. He added DHS would prioritize prosecuting and deporting illegal immigrants: “Federal agencies are going to unapologetically enforce the laws. No ifs, ands, or buts.”

Today’s announcements help quell potential backlash from lawmakers and groups who supported Trump, in part, for his campaign promises on immigration. Some groups already expressed concerns that Trump might be walking back some of his pledges.

NumbersUSA president Roy Beck wrote to his members Tuesday, asking them to bombard Trump on social media to speed up action on immigration.

One of the promises Trump made was to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA), the 2012 Obama administration directive that allowed illegal immigrants who arrived as minors to obtain work permits and protection from deportation. So far, there are about 750,000 so-called Dreamers in the United States, with 800 new applicants each day.

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services spokesman Steve Blando confirmed Tuesday the department had still been accepting and processing DACA requests under existing policy since Trump took office.

Beck wrote he assumed there was a good reason for Trump delaying action on DACA.

“But let’s make sure that President Trump and his staff are absolutely clear that we back them in ending DACA. And that we fully expect them to do so,” he wrote.

House Democratic leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said in a statement today Trump’s actions would move the country in the wrong direction.

“Wasting billions of taxpayer dollars on a border wall Mexico will never pay for and punishing cities that do not want their local police forces forced to serve as President Trump’s deportation dragnet does nothing to fix our immigration system or keep Americans safe,” Pelosi said.

But Trump’s supporters had nothing but praise for the actions.

Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said this is the action he’s been waiting for from the White House.

“For years, Americans have demanded that Washington do its job and secure our borders,” McCaul said in a statement. “I applaud the president for moving swiftly to put in place the multilayered barrier defenses we need to keep criminals, drugs, and potential terrorists out of our country.”

Additionally, Trump plans to temporarily stop all refugees from entering the United States and block Syrian migrants from entering indefinitely, according to a draft of an executive order. Trump is expected to sign the order as soon as tomorrow. The action would install tougher vetting of foreigners attempting to seek refuge in the United States. It would also place a 30-day ban on refugees from seven predominantly Muslim countries: Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen. The executive order suggests that once the refugee program resumes it will take in fewer persons each year. Last year, the United States granted 110,000 refugees entrance to the country.