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By Dan Gooding
Associate News Editor
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Immigration and border security have been some of the main talking points at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee this week, but the policies of mass deportation and finishing the border wall that former President Trump has promised are not likely to be easy to achieve.
While Trump introduced over 400 immigration-related policies during his first term in office, many were also challenged by Democrats, human rights organizations and others.
Now he is promising to reinstate rules lifted by President Biden, while also ramping up deportations and getting known criminals off America's streets.
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The ideas have clear support among GOP members, with delegates holding signs saying "Mass Deportation Now" at the convention this week.
Mass Deportation
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The GOP platform for 2024 promises the "largest deportation program in American history,", saying that it would outpace the 1.1 million-plus removals since 2021.
Trump has touted numbers as high as 15 to 20 million in interviews, which exceeds the 11.3 millionf undocumented migrants thought to be in the U.S. currently.
Many of those people have been in the country for many years, not just a few months, and have protected status while they are moved through the immigration system.
Under President Biden, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) has been expanded and now includes 16 nationalities. Among them are Salvadorans, Venezuelans and Hondurans, who are in the top ten lists of those encountered at the southwest border.
Those eligible for TPS cannot legally be removed from the U.S. and can work and travel while their application is processed.
TPS would need to be dramatically overhauled for those living under it to be deported.
Sealing the Border
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While a majority of American support the idea of closing down the southwest border, according to a recent Gallup poll, certain industries are sounding the alarm.
Farmers in Wisconsin, where the RNC is being held, are among those raising concerns about a potential loss of workers should these policies be enacted.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that migrants make up around 80% of the state's dairy industry workforce. If they were forced to leave, farms may be forced to close.
"The industry wouldn't exist without immigrants," dairy farmer John Rosenow, who has fought for changes to temporary visas, told the outlet.
Overall, unauthorized immigrants make up around 5% of the U.S. workforce.
Building the Wall
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While Biden has continued to build some of Trump's controversial border wall, large sections remain unfinished.
His – and the GOP's – plan to continue construction would likely face an uphill battle.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) brought forward a lawsuit against the wall in 2019, citing damages to the local environment and U.S. border communities. The suit was paused when Biden halted construction of the wall, but the ACLU has promised to pursue legal action once more if necessary.
"These policies have no place in a democracy that protects or respects civil liberties and the rule of law," Omar Jadwat, director of the ACLU's Immigrants' Rights Project, said in a press release recently.
"From the courts to the halls of Congress, we will use every tool at our disposal, including litigation, to defend the rights of immigrants and protect all members of our communities from the widespread damage these policies would cause."
Legislative Reform
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The GOP platform included plans to secure the border and increase vetting of migrants arriving in the U.S.
Earlier in 2024, a comprehensive bipartisan bill which would have increased funding for U.S. Customs and Border Protection and reduced the number of border crossings was voted down by Republicans.
Trump was reportedly behind the moved to block the bill, which prompted anger among Democrats who said he had done so for political gain, despite the bill offering fixes Republicans were calling for.
Legal Precedent
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While the GOP has promised to introduce tougher measures on immigrants, recent moves at state level to arrest people or remove them altogether have been blocked by the courts.
In March, a federal judge ruled that Texas Governor Greg Abbott's plan to arrest illegal immigrants was unlawful, putting the plan on indefinite hold. The proposed law would allow the state's law enforcement departments to unilaterally arrest and remove those in the U.S. illegally.
Then in June, a different federal judge in Oklahoma put a stop on a bill passing through the state's legislature promising something similar. HB 4156 was designed to jail and/or fine those in the U.S. illegally living in that state.
In both cases, the U.S. Department of Justice argued that any such move would undermine federal law, which states it is the federal government's job to defend the border.
While the GOP may pursue changes at a national level, particularly if the party gains control of Congress along with the presidency, there has been clear judicial opposition in recent months to stricter policies attempted by Republican politicians overriding legal precedent.
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