The Heritage Foundation, a prominent conservative think tank, has presented a detailed blueprint for reforming the US immigration system as the incoming Republican Congress prepares to assume power.
This proposal, crafted by Lora Ries, director of the organization’s Border Security and Immigration Center, argues that the current immigration framework has become dysfunctional, particularly under the Biden administration. Ries asserts that both legal and illegal immigration processes have suffered from inefficiencies, with legal immigration being cumbersome and costly, while illegal immigration frequently remains unaddressed.
She criticizes the Biden administration for obscuring the distinction between legal and illegal immigration, alleging misuse of humanitarian parole and an inclination towards an open-border policy. The Heritage Foundation’s plan delineates key principles aimed at strengthening law enforcement, enhancing national security, and streamlining the immigration process. Among its recommendations are revoking visas for violations, requiring citizenship proof for voting, and counting only citizens in the census for congressional representation.
The foundation also proposes the elimination of the green card lottery system, the implementation of E-Verify to ensure employment eligibility, and restricting due process in immigration proceedings. Regarding border security, the plan advocates empowering Border Patrol to expel individuals during national emergencies and emphasizes the importance of immigration detention to safeguard public safety and facilitate deportation. It calls for increased funding for border security efforts and disallows government cooperation with non-governmental organizations that may assist with illegal immigration.
Additionally, the Heritage Foundation suggests simplifying the Immigration and Nationality Act, promoting transparency in immigration costs and data, and suspending the intake of new immigrants during periods of significant backlogs. The recommendations categorically oppose granting amnesty to illegal immigrants and advocate for their exclusion from benefits like bank accounts. In alignment with these proposals, President-elect Donald Trump has signalled that immigration and border security will be among his administration’s foremost priorities.
He has appointed former Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Tom Homan as the “border czar” and selected South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem as his nominee for the Department of Homeland Security. Numerous Republican lawmakers who secured victories in the recent elections campaigned on issues surrounding illegal immigration and the Biden administration’s management of the southern border crisis.
