WASHINGTON – A top Republican on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee said Tuesday that when President-elect Donald Trump takes office and the GOP takes control of the Senate, lawmakers’ first priority will be pushing a border security package through a elaborate one Process called budget to adopt reconciliation.
Trump has promised his base that his administration will initiate mass deportations of people living in the country illegally. South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham said at a court hearing that Senate Republicans will focus on increasing detention center beds, hiring Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and purchasing technology for enforcement at the southern border.
“We believe the only way to gain control of the border is to begin deportations early,” he said. “If we don’t have an outflow, the inflow will continue.”
However, Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the pro-immigrant think tank American Immigration Council, told the panel that the undertaking would be exorbitant.
Mass deportations of 1 million people would be carried out Costs about $88 billion per year for arrests, detention and deportation, he said. Approximately 13 million people live illegally in the United States.
Fix a broken system
The committee hearing, led by Democrats who currently control the Senate but will be in the minority next year, examined the impact of Trump’s campaign promise of mass deportations.
“Instead of mass deportations, mass accountability,” said committee chairman Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois. “Let’s fix our broken immigration system in a way that protects our country and honors our heritage as a nation of immigrants.”
The budget reconciliation process led by Graham to pass border security legislation would, if successful, allow Republicans to bypass the 60-vote filibuster in the Senate.
Reconciliation is generally used when one party controls the House, Senate, and White House, as it only requires a majority vote in each chamber.
Graham added that Republicans will also prevent those paroled into the country by the executive branch from using another route to obtain legal immigration status. The GOP has been critical of programs that allow certain nationals from Haiti, Nicaragua, Cuba and Venezuela to temporarily work and live in the United States.
“So if you’re here illegally, get ready to leave,” Graham said.
IF program
One of the hearing’s witnesses, Foday Turay, is a participant in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which is awaiting a federal court ruling on its legality after the Trump administration tried to end it.
Separately, on Monday, a federal court blocked the Biden Administration’s implementation of a final rule allowing DACA recipients to access health care under the Affordable Care Act.
Around 500,000 people take part in the program, which aims to protect children brought into the country without authorization from deportation. It also allows them to obtain a work permit.
Turay is an assistant district attorney in the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office and said deportation would be devastating to his family since he is the primary breadwinner in his household.
He said his wife, a U.S. citizen, is the primary caregiver for their mother, a person with disabilities who is undergoing cancer treatment. Additionally, Turay said he would have to leave his son behind if he was deported.
Another witness, Patty Morin of Aberdeen, Maryland, told how her daughter Rachel was killed. The suspect who was charged with first-degree murder and sexual assault, was in the country illegally and had a criminal record.
Durbin said Democrats do not oppose ICE fulfilling its obligations to deport people with criminal records, emphasizing that Trump’s plans for mass deportations would extend beyond that group to include people like Turay.
“This man makes his living going after criminals,” Durbin said of Turay. “This other person is clearly a criminal with a criminal record. When we talk about “mass deportation,” should we consider them the same thing because they are both undocumented?”
Regarding DACA, Graham said, “Hopefully we can find a solution to this problem.”
Over the weekend, Trump expressed support for a deal with Democrats that would allow DACA recipients to remain in the country, despite attempts to end the program during his first term.
Deployment of the National Guard
Durbin said he was concerned about Trump’s comments about using the National Guard for mass deportations.
One of the witnesses, Randy Manner, a retired U.S. Army major general, said he saw problems with using the military for mass deportations.
It could affect military readiness, he said, and the military is not trained in this role.
“Immigration enforcement is the responsibility of federal law enforcement,” Manner said.
He added that if soldiers followed this order, it would have a negative impact on morale and recruitment. Manner also said that the US military’s involvement in such political messaging would undermine public trust.
Costs of mass deportations
Minnesota Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar said mass deportations not only hurt communities but also pose a financial burden.
Reichlin-Melnick said industries that would be particularly strenuous hit by the loss of employees include construction, agriculture and hospitality.
Reichlin-Melnick also argued that ICE is already focused on arresting and conducting deportation proceedings for noncitizens with criminal records.
“The vast majority of people who would be the target of a mass deportation campaign have no criminal record,” he said. “These are people who otherwise lead law-abiding lives, live, work and, in many cases, pay taxes in this country.”
Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee suggested that local law enforcement should have the authority to carry out deportations, even though immigration enforcement is a federal matter.
Art Arthur, a resident fellow in law and policy at the Center for Immigration Studies, a group that advocates for dramatic limits on immigration, supported the idea.
“They will be the ones best able to get these individuals out of the community,” Arthur said of local law enforcement.
Last updated on December 10, 2024 at 4:23 p.m
