Months after throwing his hat into the presidential ring, Donald Trump has finally come out with a detailed policy plan on immigration that is just as tough as his rhetoric on the subject has been thus far.
“Real immigration reform puts the needs of working people first – not wealthy globetrotting donors,” his campaign website reads. “We are the only country in the world whose immigration system puts the needs of other nations ahead of our own. That must change.”
Trump goes on to list three core tenets of his plan to reform our immigration system if he were president. In short, they are: building the much-talked-about wall across the southern border; passing laws in accordance with the Constitution; and improving the jobs, wages, and the security outlook for all Americans.
The detailed plan, which includes tripling the number of ICE officers tasked with tracking down illegal immigrants and ending birthright citizenship, has drawn plaudits from some on the right.
Some of the loudest, and most controversial, voices in the Republican Party were quick to heap praise on Trump’s plan. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), who worked with the GOP front-runner on the blueprint, called it “exactly the plan America needs.”
And Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), a vocal House conservative on all things immigration, said it was very promising.
“It’s a very, very positive document,” he told CNN. “It’s bold. It’s strong. It’s broad.”
Trump’s proposals rippled through the crowded GOP primary field as well.
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker was quick to point out Monday the similarities between his plan and Trump’s, while New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie dismissed it on the campaign trail.
Others, of course, were quick to point out that Trump’s plans may not be viable.
Douglas Holtz-Eakin, the head of the conservative American Action Forum, said Trump’s proposals would do more economic harm than good. […]
But Holtz-Eakin, who previously headed the Congressional Budget Office, said mass deportations could carry a stiff price tag. […]
“It would change the fabric of America in a big way,” Holtz-Eakin said. “He’s got the economics of immigration, generally, completely wrong.”
Doris Meissner, director of the U.S. immigration policy at the Migration Policy Institute, said Trump does try to tackle some of the most vexing challenges facing the nation on immigration. But she said his proposals were extreme, oversimplistic and often based on flawed assumptions.
Regardless, he’s still leading the GOP field.