Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump tempered the tone of his diatribe against immigration, but the substance of a 10-point plan that he unveiled on Wednesday was not any different from the past. Mr. Trump reiterated that his administration would build a wall on the border with Mexico, and all undocumented foreigners — estimated to be 11 million — would be deported.
The Republican nominee also promised to slow down the flow of immigrants to the U.S. and to ensure that jobs are offered to Americans first. Such a move may impact Indian companies and employees who are accused of replacing American workers by using the H-1B visa programme.
Visit to Mexico
Mr. Trump took a huge gamble with the centrepiece of his political agenda by visiting Mexico City hours before he gave a speech that was billed as his immigration policy. After being crudely derisive towards Mexicans through most of his campaign, Mr. Trump made an overture to them by meeting Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, in a hurried visit across the southern border.
Mr. Trump was perhaps trying to make himself more acceptable to moderate sections of the electorate. Mr. Nieto and Mr. Trump made a cordial joint media appearance, allowing supporters of the Republican candidate to laud his ‘presidential demeanour’, but the impact of this gamble on his electoral fortunes remains unclear. Mr. Nieto and Mr. Trump made contradicting claims on the issue of who will fund the border wall.
Mr. Trump sought to pitch the undocumented immigrants against African-American and Hispanic citizens and to turn them against Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
“Hillary Clinton has pledged amnesty [for illegal immigrants] in her first 100 days, and her plan will provide Obamacare, Social Security and Medicare for illegal immigrants — breaking the federal budget. On top of that, she promises uncontrolled low-skilled immigration that continues to reduce jobs and wages for American workers, especially African-American and Hispanic workers,” he said.
Mr. Trump’s unfavourability ratings among African-Americans and Hispanics are above 90 per cent in most polls. Both communities support Ms. Clinton.
“Most illegal immigrants are lower-skilled workers with less education who compete directly against vulnerable American workers, and that these illegal workers draw much more out from the system than they will ever pay in,” Mr. Trump said in a speech focusing on immigration policy. The key element in Mr. Trump’s speech, as opposed to his previous campaign speeches, was a commitment to a staggered plan for deporting people, starting with two million.
While the “criminal aliens” will be the first ones to be deported, nobody has a path to citizenship in the U.S. “We will break the cycle of amnesty and illegal immigration,” he said.
Those who are in the U.S. illegally will have to leave the country before they could apply for documented entry into the country. They will have no special quotas, but will have to apply within the annual limits, which will be set afresh by a future Trump administration.
A future Trump administration will also slow down the flow of immigrants. Mr. Trump said the U.S. has an obligation to 59 million immigrants who have entered the country between 1965 and 2015 — which will require slowing down the entry of more people, “to ensure assimilation, integration and upward mobility.”
