Trump’s illegal immigration pledge kept GOP in power — don’t forget it

President Trump ultimately won in November in large part because he campaigned aggressively on cracking down on illegal immigration. He vowed to make America safe again by building a wall to secure our borders and defunding sanctuary cities that shelter illegal criminals.

If you turn on the TV or listen to the Democrats’ talking points, they try to instill fear by painting those who believe in immigration laws as hateful human beings who lack compassion and want all immigrants deported.

People are drinking the Kool-Aid they’re pouring.  After the election I remember people telling me they were scared that someone they know who is here legally might get deported.

President Trump never advocated deporting legal immigrants, and he never advocated turning our country into a police state. That’s just fear mongering.

{mosads}In fact, there is only one administration I know of in recent history who had us wondering if we were entering a police state. In 2000, under the direct orders of President Clinton’s attorney general, federal agents stormed the Miami home of the uncle of 6-year-old Elian Gonzalez, who was rescued after his mom died fleeing Castro’s Cuba with him.

The agents knocked down the door and went in military guns locked and loaded. The iconic picture of an agent pointing one of those giant guns directly at the terrified little boy and his uncle is one many of us will never forget.

How ironic. Elian’s mother gave her life to ensure his freedom, and it was a “free” country that took him from his law-abiding family with totalitarian force.

NEW: Seven key players for Trump’s immigration policies https://t.co/1lIqkB6pAr pic.twitter.com/R9lZgMkVkp

— The Hill (@thehill) April 30, 2017

That’s real fear. Enforcing laws that prohibit people from entering this country until we can verify that they don’t have a criminal history, and they aren’t here to terrorize us — that’s called protecting my kids and yours.

Not only did President Trump’s message of law and order resonate with the American people last November, it apparently resonated with illegal immigrants.

Even before construction on the wall has started, the number of people crossing the border illegally has drastically decreased since the inauguration. Former Border Patrol Chief David V. Aguilar said that compared with 2016, apprehensions on the southwest border are down 67 percent through March. That is even higher than the 61 percent decline touted by President Trump.  

The Democrats and their friends in the media use examples of displaced refugees to show you’re heartless if you don’t support an open border free-for-all. What they don’t talk about are the tens of thousands of illegal immigrants convicted of crimes, including homicide, manslaughter, and kidnapping who were released back into communities during the Obama administration.

Former director of anti-immigration group to be appointed to top immigration services position https://t.co/VlFTauvRFf pic.twitter.com/PYlDSqeAsN

— The Hill (@thehill) April 29, 2017

Those aren’t the stories that make the cut for primetime news.

Innocent refugees, unfortunately, aren’t always the reality of an immigration system in chaos. Just ask Kate Steinle’s parents.

Many people remember that she was allegedly killed in 2015 by an illegal immigrant with seven felony convictions. He was deported five times, but snuck back over the border and sought refuge in San Francisco, a sanctuary city.

While he was apprehended on drug charges — another crime — ICE issued a detainer request for him. Instead of turning him over to authorities, as the law requires, they let him walk because it’s a sanctuary city, and illegal felons don’t have to follow law, apparently. Shortly after, he shot and killed Kate Steinle.

The city of San Francisco has her blood on its hands.

Texas governor signs law banning sanctuary cities https://t.co/6czpQXENTb pic.twitter.com/PlLuz1rlb8

— The Hill (@thehill) May 8, 2017

President Trump recently signed an executive order, making good on his promise to cut off funding to sanctuary cities who harbor illegal criminals, only to have it blocked by a judge who appears to be anything but impartial.

The executive order essentially enforced existing law. The Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 requires states to cooperate with authorities on immigration requests. “…State, or local government entity or official may not prohibit, or in any way restrict, any government entity or official from sending to, or receiving from, the Immigration and Naturalization Service information regarding the citizenship or immigration status, lawful or unlawful, of any individual.” (8 U.S. Code, section 1373)

Judge William Orrick, who blocked the order, was nominated by President Obama, and was a major fundraiser and donor to the former president, raising $200,000 for him and donating $30,800 to committees supporting him. He contributed large amounts of money to a man who supported harboring illegal criminals, and then issued a ruling telling President Trump he can’t enforce existing law that prevents harboring illegal criminals. I think it’s fair to say judicial integrity took another serious hit on his watch.

If we decide to stop paying taxes because we don’t like the law, will local governments protect us from the IRS under the guise of a sanctuary city?  Or if a city decides to declare itself a sanctuary for the Second Amendment, can everyone carry guns openly, shielded from federal and state gun laws? How should we know which laws are serious and which are simply suggestions?

Trump slams court for blocking sanctuary cities order: “See you in the Supreme Court!” https://t.co/21aGgwIG5p pic.twitter.com/JnUNfmLN1p

— The Hill (@thehill) April 26, 2017

According to a Rasmussen poll, 81 percent of voters favor the mandatory deportation of illegal immigrants convicted of a crime, and 50 percent of voters in November said the U.S. should take legal action against sanctuary cities that harbor illegal immigrants.

The American people voted decisively for President Trump in November, and they allowed Republicans to keep their majorities in both the House and Senate, because they believed these Republicans would work to help the president carryout his agenda.

Late last month Congress passed a short-term budget that looks more like the Democrats’ agenda than the president’s. It doesn’t include money to fund the border wall or cut funding for sanctuary cities.

The president’s priorities are what the American people voted for, and his priorities are the reason many of the Republicans in Congress lived to see another term.

They would be wise to remember that.

Lauren DeBellis Appell, a freelance writer in Fairfax, Va., served as former Senator Rick Santorum’s (R-PA) deputy campaign press secretary for his successful re-election campaign, and as assistant communications director for the Senate Republican Policy Committee.

The views expressed by contributors are their own and are not the views of The Hill.