Border & Immigration News
The Daily Signal provides border and immigration news, including reporting, analysis, and commentary on policy, enforcement, and political debates.
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opinion
Why the Electronic Immigration System Is Broken
On Monday, the Department of Homeland Security inspector general took the extraordinary step of speaking out against the reinstatement of the Electronic Immigration System to process naturalization benefits for immigrants. Though the system should theoretically streamline immigration and naturalization processes by automating immigration applications and adjudication, it has become a sinkhole of government funds in… -
opinion
Trump’s Immigration Actions Reverse Obama’s Open Borders Policy
Moving swiftly to fulfill his campaign promise to get the nation’s illegal immigration problem under control, President Donald Trump signed two executive orders on Jan. 25 that constitute an almost complete reversal of the Obama administration’s nonenforcement and open borders policy. From improving the physical barrier at our southern border to finally moving against sanctuary… -
news
The Showdown Over Sanctuary Cities
In the 1940s, Jan Ting’s parents faced a difficult path to American citizenship following a U.S. immigration ban on Chinese workers that lasted 61 years. Today, Ting is a law professor at Temple University—after serving as a top immigration official under President George H.W. Bush. Ting is also a strong opponent of sanctuary cities that… -
news
Trump Signs Executive Orders to Stem Illegal Immigration. Now What?
Immigration analysts say President Donald Trump’s executive actions Wednesday to combat illegal immigration signify his intent to strip away impediments imposed by his predecessor and enforce existing laws more strictly. “The executive orders signed today reflect the administration’s understanding that there is more to immigration security than just building the wall,” Jessica Vaughan, the director… -
news
Trump Takes Opening Action on Border Wall, Sanctuary Cities
President Donald Trump signed two executive orders Wednesday following through on his signature issue of illegal immigration. The first provides for building a wall along the southern border, and the second for beefing up enforcement inside the country—including a crackdown on sanctuary cities that shield illegal immigrants. “A nation without borders is not a nation,”… -
news
That DC Limo Trump Protesters Torched Belonged to a Muslim Immigrant
The limousine liberal protesters set on fire in Washington, D.C., Friday in response to Donald Trump’s inauguration belonged to a Muslim immigrant who now faces up to $70,000 of damage to his property. An angry mob attacked one of Muhammad Ashraf’s limo drivers while he was sitting in the vehicle on 12th Street in the northwest… -
news
Trump Day One Executive Actions Could Include Immigration, Obamacare, ISIS, and Trade
President-elect Donald Trump plans to use “four or five” executive actions on Friday after being sworn into office, incoming White House press secretary Sean Spicer told reporters. “We’ve talked about that for a few months now—Obamacare, the fight against ISIS, he talked about immigration, key issues that have been important to him throughout the campaign… -
opinion
3 Takeaways From Gen. John Kelly’s Homeland Security Confirmation Hearing
On Tuesday, retired Gen. John Kelly, the nominee to be secretary of homeland security, went before the Senate’s Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee for his confirmation hearing. Here are the top three takeaways from that hearing. 1. The Department of Homeland Security’s management and morale are a top focus for Congress and for Kelly. Multiple… -
news
4 Key Things to Know About Building Trump’s Border Wall
President-elect Donald Trump has legal authorization to move forward on his core campaign promise of building a border wall; he just needs the money to do it. Trump said he still intends to require Mexico to pay for the wall, but needs congressional appropriation to expedite the process. The dishonest media does not report that… -
news
Texas Governor Pledges to Sign Anti-Sanctuary City Bill
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says he expects the Legislature to pass an anti-sanctuary city bill this year, opening a new front in the battle over “local control.” Weighing in on the intensifying national immigration debate, the Republican governor pledged to sign S.B. 4, which would require municipalities to enforce migrant detainers at local jails and withhold state… -
news
Deported Immigrants Get Taxpayer-Funded Grants From Obama Administration
The Obama administration is using a taxpayer-funded program to award business grants to Salvadoran migrants deported from the United States. Run by the nonprofit Instituto Salvadorno Del Migrante and funded through a $50,000 grant from the taxpayer-backed Inter-American Foundation, the program “facilitates [deportees’] reintegration into their communities and supports their enterprises by offering financial education,… -
opinion
How Donald Trump Can Put an End to Sanctuary Cities
Just a few weeks ago, President-elect Donald Trump said, “Cities that refuse to cooperate with federal authorities will not receive taxpayer dollars.” And I absolutely agree. Since 2007, I’ve been fighting to end the dangerous existence of sanctuary cities by introducing legislation every Congress. During the Obama administration’s tenure, over 300 cities—including my hometown of… -
news
In Texas, Republicans Fight New Sanctuary Cities in Wake of Trump Victory
In the border state of Texas, the Republican governor and state Legislature are promising to combat a new trend since the election of Donald Trump, in which cities and localities vow to limit how much they assist federal authorities with removing immigrants living illegally in their communities. Sally Hernandez, the Democratic sheriff-elect in Travis County,… -
news
Nation’s Largest College System Says It Will Protect Illegal Immigrants From Trump
The head of California’s community college system, the country’s largest, has joined other education leaders in the state by declaring that he will resist any effort by the federal government to deport illegal immigrants within his student body. Eloy Ortiz Oakley is chancellor of California Community Colleges, a network of some 113 campuses and the largest unified… -
opinion
Does Current Immigration Economically Benefit Ordinary US Citizens?
Does current immigration economically benefit ordinary non-immigrants? A recent major report indicates that most immigration does not. In September, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) published a major report on “The Economic and Fiscal Consequences of Immigration.” The report shows that, other than small number of scientifically educated immigrants, immigration produces little or no overall economic gain… -
opinion
Conservatives Could Imitate Left’s ‘Sanctuary City’ Approach
For more than a half-century, it has become abundantly clear that our nation faces increasing irreconcilable differences. At the root is the fact that there is one group of Americans who mostly want to be left alone and live according to the rule of law and the dictates of the U.S. Constitution, while another group… -
news
Grounded Surveillance Operation Nabbed 110,000 Illegal Immigrants at Border
While surveillance helicopters were grounded in Texas, the head of Customs and Border Protection called the flights critical to “countering illegal immigration” from Mexico. Records bear that out: A government report credited Operation Phalanx with apprehending 110,000 illegal border crossers. CBP Commissioner Gil Kerlikowske stated in a Nov. 16 letter that Phalanx “provided tangible benefits… -
news
Colleges Look to Create Sanctuary Campuses for Illegal Immigrant Students
Presidents from at least two colleges have pledged to make their campuses safe havens for illegal immigrant students. “We steadfastly support all members of our community regardless of their immigration status,” John Kroger, president of Reed College in Portland, Oregon, said last week in an announcement that his college will be a sanctuary campus. Students… -
news
Sanctuary Cities Defy Trump’s Pledge to Defund Them. How He Can Fight Back.
Leaders of sanctuary cities that protect illegal immigrants from deportation are responding defiantly to threats by President-elect Donald Trump to withhold federal funding from them. Local governments from cities including the District of Columbia, Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, and Boston over the past few days have said that despite the financial cost they… -
opinion
Trump Has Effective Plan to Curb Illegal Immigration, Secure Border
To stem the tidal wave of illegal immigration engulfing America, the most important first step that Donald Trump can take is to order the Department of Homeland Security to enforce our existing immigration laws. That is exactly what he promised to do, and not just in numerous speeches. It’s an official policy statement on the…