OPINION:
A convicted child rapist, a murderer and an ISIS terrorist suspect. These are just some of the violent criminals being taken off American streets and deported under President Trump’s mass deportation operations. Contrary to the media’s fearmongering, this is not about targeting law-abiding families; it’s about making Hispanic neighborhoods safer, securing jobs for legal workers and stopping the chaos unleashed by open-border policies.
Hispanics, especially those in Florida, Texas and Arizona, suffered the most from the Biden-Harris administration’s reckless border policies. Communities were flooded with fentanyl, human trafficking skyrocketed, and criminal organizations such as Venezuela’s deadly Tren de Aragua gang infiltrated our cities. These gangs continue to terrorize working-class neighborhoods, preying on immigrants and citizens alike. Under Mr. Trump and led by border czar Tom Homan, the federal government has taken an aggressive stance to locate, arrest and deport criminal illegal aliens before they can inflict further harm.
One of the most horrific consequences of the Biden-Harris administration’s border crisis has been the explosion of human trafficking. Ruthless cartels and traffickers exploited weak enforcement to smuggle women and children across the border, subjecting them to unspeakable abuse. Under the previous administration, hundreds of thousands of minors were lost in the system, abandoned to traffickers by President Biden’s failed policies. President Trump is taking direct action to dismantle these trafficking networks, ensuring that America is no longer a safe zone for modern-day slavery.
Sanctuary cities such as Chicago, Los Angeles and New York became havens for violent criminals. Over the weekend alone, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained more than 1,000 illegal aliens, including MS-13 gang members, drug traffickers and convicted child rapists. These deportations are not just necessary; they are urgent steps to protect Hispanic families from becoming victims of crime.
Temporary protected status, designed as a short-term solution for immigrants facing crises in their home countries, became a backdoor amnesty program under the Biden-Harris administration. It allowed hundreds of thousands to stay indefinitely, even those with criminal records.
The Trump-Vance administration is restoring integrity to the system by ensuring that temporary protected status is applied correctly and does not become a loophole for unchecked illegal immigration. Venezuelans fleeing the brutal Maduro regime deserve real asylum protections, not mass designations that overwhelm American resources and allow criminals to exploit the system. By ending temporary protected status fraud, Mr. Trump prioritizes legal immigration and genuine refugees while ensuring that those abusing the system do not drain resources.
The Hispanic community overwhelmingly supports secure borders and a fair immigration system. Millions of Hispanic families followed the rules, waited in line and built their lives legally in the United States. Yet, under Mr. Biden and Kamala Harris, illegal immigrants cut to the front of the line, overwhelmed social services and undercut wages for Hispanic workers.
Mr. Trump is standing with legal immigrants and Hispanics who demand fairness. His administration’s focus is clear: Remove criminal aliens, secure jobs for American workers and restore order to the immigration system. Those who contribute positively to our country will always have a place, but lawlessness will not be tolerated.
Under Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris, cartels and human traffickers exploited open borders to flood America with crime and drugs such as deadly fentanyl. The Trump administration is shutting down these networks, ramping up anti-trafficking operations and stopping the flow of illegal drugs into Hispanic neighborhoods. Every deportation of a killer, rapist or cartel member means fewer victims and safer streets.
The choice is clear: law and order under Mr. Trump or chaos under the radical left. The Hispanic community knows what’s at stake, and they stand with Mr. Trump in securing our communities, protecting legal immigrants and restoring the promise of the American dream.
• Bob Unanue is a senior adviser for America First Works. He is a shareholder at Goya Foods and served as executive producer of the movie “Sound of Freedom.”
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