What an incredibly frustrating series of events we have been through legally over the past six weeks since Donald Trump started implementing his immigration reforms and the ACLU became his co-president in batting them down one by one. It has been one step forward, two steps backward for the Trump administration when it comes to fulfilling the people’s wishes to deport not a few, not some, but all of the illegal immigrants in the United States right now. That is what the people want.
CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten took this on late last week. On the question of what percentage of voters favor “a government effort to deport all” illegal immigrants, he cited a Washington Post poll that found 56 percent support it compared to just 38 percent in 2016. “The American people have come a long way on this issue, much closer to Donald Trump,” Enten said. “And I think that is a big part of the reason why Americans are increasingly saying the country is on the right track when it comes to immigration policy, and why Donald Trump’s net approval rating on that issue is in the positive.”
The Numbers
So, it is a clear majority who want all of them gone – not just the ones who committed additional crimes. They want all illegal immigrants in the United States to be deported. How many is that? It was said to be between 10 and 11 million in 2020 when Trump left office. How many have arrived in the four years since?
The Center for Migration Studies claims just 1.7 million were added, so we are only up to 11.7 million. Bullsh-t. That grossly underestimates the millions who swarmed into this country under Joe Biden. He was letting in 300,000 people a month. House Republicans and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), which is in a position to know, estimate it was closer to 8 million under Biden. That gives us 18 million illegal immigrants in the country.
A clear majority of Americans want Trump to get rid of all 18 million people, so how are we doing? You have seen border czar Tom Homan out there doing his level best. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is out there doing its level best. They are doing yeoman’s work at the southern border, and the trickle back into the country has been stopped as much as you can stop it without having an airtight wall.
The Deportation Efforts
They are doing a great job stopping the flow, but how are we doing on the removals of those already here? For the month of February, Trump deported just over 11,000 people. You have never had an administration more devoted to rounding them up and shipping them out. He is doing everything within his power. He has expanded rights of removal when you encounter somebody at the border to basically cover all of the United States. He is using the Alien Enemies Act.
And even with that, he only got 11,000 people out in February. I haven’t seen the March numbers yet, but you can assume it is around the same. Let’s say the total doubles if you add March in there, so he is now up to 22,000 deportations.
Keep in mind Tom Homan said they were going to start with the worst first, meaning those who have committed additional crimes beyond illegal entry or overstaying their visa. Well, how many of those are there out of that 18 million? ICE told Congress last year it was about 435,000 illegals who have criminal convictions who are not yet in U.S. custody.
So, we are starting with the worst first, which are those 435,000 people. Since Trump took office, we can round up and say he has gotten 25,000 people out. That doesn’t even get us down to 400,000 of the illegals running around who have also committed crimes, and you haven’t even cracked a million of the 18 million total.
This is not a rip on Trump. He is trying. Tom Homan is trying. Tom Homan is jumping up and down saying, ‘I need more money because I don’t have the resources to do this, and, on top of that, I don’t have the facilities to store them.’ There is no place to put even the numbers they are finding.
Just today, we have this long article about how the ACLU is complaining the ICE facilities aren’t nice enough because some female migrants are sleeping on mats on concrete floors. Okay. They are complaining that some of the lunch tables don’t have enough seats. Really? Then, get them out. Go home. You know where they have seats and mattresses? Back in your home countries. Get out.
But, no, it is all on Trump and Tom Homan to find them all, overcome the sanctuary cities’ objections, overcome these mayors who are undermining them, overcome the leakers who are telling illegals when Homan’s groups are coming, and now – biggest and most importantly – overcome the ACLU.
SCOTUS Ruling
At every turn, the ACLU is going into court and challenging the deportations. They are saying you can’t expand expedited removal, you can’t use the Alien Enemies Act, and they just had a huge victory.
In the wee hours Saturday morning, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 7-2 unsigned ruling (though we know it was Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito who were in the dissent), stopped the president from deporting people under the Alien Enemies Act. Busses that were seen leaving the ICE detention centers – said to be full of Venezuelans – had to turn around and return them to the ICE facilities.
We are only at maybe 25,000 deported out of 18 million, and now you have these courts saying they want due process that looks like it is going to be akin to the due process you get when you are charged criminally. There was no due process afforded to American citizens as 18 million people illegally entered and some half a million of them committed crimes against us (stealing from us, raping our women, murdering us and our children, child molestation), but now for each one of these illegal immigrants we have to have due process before we deport them to El Salvador or anywhere else?
The Supreme Court, for now, has shut down the use of the Alien Enemies Act, and the ACLU does nothing but file challenges to every single attempt to deport these people. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi is up to her chin now in ACLU legal filings, not to mention the offense that Trump is trying to do legally with things like getting open antisemitism to stop on campuses like Harvard.
More of the Same
That is where we are today. How are we ever supposed to get ahead on any of this when the beat down against everything they try to do is constant, there are so many enabling judges who will work with the ACLU, and there is the enabling media that will work with his left-wing critics on everything?
At every turn, the same establishment-types that got us into this mess are doing their level best to keep us there.
You can check out Megyn’s full analysis by tuning in to episode 1,053 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s Triumph (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.