Senator-elect Jim Banks (R-IN) outlined a detailed plan to deport all 15 million undocumented immigrants currently living in the United States during an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash. “One of the top issues in your campaign was immigration and the border. What is the first thing that you want the president-elect to do?” Bash asked the three-term House lawmaker, who will be replacing new Indiana Governor-elect Mike Braun in the U.S. Senate.
Banks expressed confidence that, immediately after being sworn in, Trump will reinstate several immigration executive orders, including the widely supported Remain in Mexico policy, which was rescinded by President Biden. The policy required asylum seekers to stay in Mexico while their claims were processed, contrasting sharply with the Biden administration’s “catch and release” policy, under which illegal immigrants are transported to states of their choice and given court dates. [see video below]
“And that’s the perfect Trump formula to begin the process to secure the border. What’s different about this time from last time is he’s gonna have backup in the Congress to support him to do it. And we will give him the funding that it takes to fully build the wall, to support our border patrol agents, to do their important work. But it’s gonna start with those executive orders on day one,” Banks said. “Joe Biden overturned all of those Trump policies on his first day in office, and Donald Trump’s going to immediately reverse that and go back to what we know will work.”
Bash then shifted to discussing the logistics of deporting all illegal immigrants in the United States, a plan that both Trump and Banks have endorsed and discussed at length on the campaign trail. “First of all, just to better understand what the actual policy and how it’s going to be executed will be, do you see all undocumented immigrants as sort of, should they all be kicked out of the country?” the CNN host asked.
“Well, some conservative estimates say that there are at least 15 million illegals who have come into the country on Joe Biden’s watch. It’s my hope that we deport every single one of them that we can. And it starts with deporting violent criminals who are in the United States, who came here illegally, who have committed violent crimes. I think once you do that, President Trump is committed to making that his first and top priority when it comes to mass deportation,” the senator-elect responded.
“And then also on top of that, increase the penalties on businesses who hire illegals in our country and take away the incentive for them to be here and for them to come here. And I think many of them will leave on their own,” Banks continued. “But this – the mass deportation plan needs to be an immediate focus of the House and the Senate. I believe when the dust settles, we’re going to have an even bigger majority in the House, still a slim majority, but a big – a bigger majority by a couple of seats in the House, and we’ll have the ability to work together in both chambers to fund the mass deportation effort and give the president the backup that he needs to make it happen.”
Bash then asked the congressman to clarify whether all 15 million illegal aliens should be deported, even those who are “contributing to society.” Banks was resolute in his response, however. “The American people spoke loud and clear on Tuesday. They gave this president and Republicans a mandate to do everything that we can. The goal should be to deport every illegal in this country that we can find,” Banks replied, reiterating that cracking down on companies for hiring illegals will cause millions to leave the country on their own.
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