OPINION:
The master showman Donald Trump makes the most of limited resources. Congress thus far hasn’t provided anywhere near the scale of funding needed to remove the more than 13 million individuals trespassing in this country. So, the president is finding more economical ways to encourage them to do the right thing on their own.
Uninvited immigrants can leave of their own free will by month’s end, or they can face a less pleasant future. Three charter flights to Central America demonstrated one potential outcome. The country watched as 250 illegal alien gang members were unceremoniously shuttled to no-frills accommodations in an El Salvadoran prison.
Once noncitizens are beyond U.S. borders, there’s nothing American Civil Liberties Union lawyers, nongovernmental organizations or activist judges can do to spring them. Realistically, however, this particular overseas destination is reserved for the worst hoodlums who would otherwise take up space in a U.S. jail.
For the rest, the administration proposes financial consequences. The Department of Homeland Security recently announced: “Illegal aliens should use the CBP Home app to self-deport and leave the country now. If they don’t, they will face the consequences. This includes a fine of $998 per day for every day that the illegal alien overstayed their final deportation order.”
Mr. Trump is exercising authority under the Immigration and Nationality Act, which also includes provisions for civil asset forfeiture for groups and individuals who assist criminal aliens in breaking the law.
Blue jurisdictions will soon feel the heat for their collaboration. “No more Sanctuary Cities,” the president wrote on Truth Social on Thursday. “They protect the Criminals, not the Victims… Working on papers to withhold all Federal Funding for any City or State that allows these Death Traps to exist!”
At the state level, Democrats are fighting back. Connecticut Attorney General William Tong on Tuesday threatened to sanction Avelo, the low-cost airline that recently agreed to fly deportation flights for Homeland Security.
“Connecticut taxpayers have supported Avelo’s growth in our state by exempting state taxes on aviation fuel,” Mr. Tong wrote in a letter to the company’s CEO. “We are owed answers on Avelo’s Homeland Security contract to determine whether Avelo’s business practices can remain compatible with such state support.”
Of course, the White House has leverage over the state. The Census Bureau says Uncle Sam provides Connecticut with $12 billion in funding every year. It would be a shame if that federal support didn’t prove compatible with America’s border security.
The left has chosen a strange hill to die on in seeking to block removal of alleged scoundrels such as Ruben Alonso Urbina. At the beginning of the month, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officials announced he was flown to his home country of Honduras, where he is wanted for murder.
President Biden created the CBP One app to lure 900,000 illegals into the country. The Department of Government Efficiency reported Thursday that 6,300 of them were on the FBI terror watch list. Hundreds of these thugs received food stamps, student loans and Medicaid and unemployment benefits.
Most sensible Americans understand such dangerous people don’t belong here, and they certainly don’t deserve unearned freebies. Given the judicial and political interference with a full-fledged deportation effort, Mr. Trump is concentrating on making their continued unlawful presence untenable.
Users of the CBP One App are now getting messages saying they must announce their departure by April 24 or face the consequences. Success will be measured by how many comply.
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