President Trump has consistently touted his record and commitment to reducing illegal immigration numbers. His campaign’s platform states:

“Republicans will restore every Border Policy of the Trump administration and halt all releases of Illegal Aliens into the interior. We will complete the Border Wall, shift massive portions of Federal Law Enforcement to Immigration Enforcement, and use advanced technology to monitor and secure the Border.” SOURCE

During the campaign, Trump called on Congress to attach H.R. 2 to must-pass spending bills. SOURCE

As 45th President of the United States, President Trump instituted a number of initiatives to secure the border, including ending catch-and-release, building 450 miles of new or improved barriers along the U.S. – Mexico border, and implementing Title 42 to ensure that illegal economic migrants were not able to game our asylum system at the border.

Former President Trump’s 2024 platform does not mention E-Verify. SOURCE

Trump’s 2016 platform included a commitment to mandate use of the E-Verify system (SOURCE) and he included it in his “10-part immigration plan”: “We will ensure that E-Verify is used to the fullest extent possible under existing law, and will work with Congress to strengthen and expand its use across the country…. Those who abuse our welfare system will be priorities for removal.” SOURCE

During his first term in office, Trump supported key pieces of legislation, such as H.R. 4760, Rep. Bob Goodlatte’s Securing America’s Future Act, that would have mandated E-Verify’s use, but later backtracked on his 2016 campaign promise to mandate universal, nationwide E-Verify use for new hires and current employees. SOURCE; SOURCE

In 2019, Trump argued against universal employment verification:

“So E-Verify is going to be possibly a part of it. The one problem is E-Verify is so tough that in some cases, like farmers, they’re not — they’re not equipped for E-Verify. I mean I’d say that’s against Republicans. A lot of the Republicans say you go through an E-Verify. I used it when I built the hotel down the road on Pennsylvania Avenue. I use a very strong E-Verify system. And we would go through 28 people — 29, 30 people before we found one that qualified.” SOURCE

During his first term in office, former President Trump was a consistent and vocal supporter of limiting chain migration to nuclear family members. (SOURCE, SOURCE)  Moreover, Trump supported several pieces of legislation, including H.R 4760, Rep. Bob Goodlatte’s Securing America’s Future Act, and S. 354, Sens. Tom Cotton and David Perdue’s RAISE Act. SOURCE

During his current campaign, Trump has promised to end chain migration if elected:

“Republicans will prioritize Merit-based immigration, ensuring those admitted to our Country contribute positively to our Society and Economy, and never become a drain on Public Resources. We will end Chain Migration, and put American Workers first!” SOURCE

During his first term in office, former President Trump was a vocal opponent of the visa lottery (SOURCE) and supported several pieces of legislation, including H.R 4760, Rep. Bob Goodlatte’s Securing America’s Future Act, and S. 354, Sens. Tom Cotton and David Perdue’s RAISE Act. SOURCE

While in office, Trump issued an executive order to prevent most immigrants from terrorist-producing countries (SOURCE) and an executive order to stop most non-essential immigration during the COVID-19 pandemic (SOURCE); both of these orders applied to visa lottery winners.

Trump has not discussed ending the visa lottery during his current campaign and ending it is not part of his party’s official platform. SOURCE, SOURCE

During his 2016 campaign, former President Trump’s platform supported restricting asylum to “cases of political, ethnic or religious persecution” (SOURCE) and took steps while in office to limit asylum to those in genuine fear for his/her life and to exclude purely economic migrants or those fleeing family violence. In addition, Trump took firm steps to limit fraudulent asylum claims by implementing Title 42 and agreeing the Migration Protection Protocols (Remain in Mexico) with the Mexican government. (SOURCE, SOURCE, SOURCE) Trump also supported legislation, such as S. 354, Sens. Tom Cotton and David Perdue’s RAISE Act, to limit the intake of refugees to 50,000 per annum. SOURCE

While Trump’s 2024 platform does not mention refugee or asylum fraud or numbers, he has stated that he will work with Mexico to reinstitute the Migration Protection Protocols (SOURCE, SOURCE) and he said in August, 2023, that:

“In a second term, we will immediately reimplement these policies (including Safe Third Agreements, Title 42, Transit Ban, etc.) with the goal of removing all illegal crossers as rapidly as possible from U.S. soil, and as far away from the United States as possible. At no point will any alien be released into the United States but will instead be detained continuously until the rapid ejection from our country takes place. The goal is not merely to stop the release of aliens into the United States, but to stop all forms of asylum shopping by making clear that you must seek asylum elsewhere and you will not be granted any form of entry into the United States.” SOURCE

During his 2016 campaign, former President Trump promised increased interior immigration enforcement and adherence to the law, as reflected in his platform. SOURCE

While in office, Trump supported legislation, such as H.R. 4760, Rep. Bob Goodlatte’s Securing America’s Future Act, that would have blocked sanctuary jurisdictions from receiving federal funds. (SOURCE) Trump also temporarily reinstituted ICE workplace enforcement raids to apprehend illegal alien workers and charge unscrupulous employers (SOURCE, SOURCE) and signed Executive Order 13768 to increase the number of illegal and criminal aliens considered a priority for removal proceedings. SOURCE

During the current campaign, Trump has committed to increasing interior immigration enforcement and adhering to the rule of law:

“Republicans will strengthen ICE, increase penalties for illegal entry and overstaying Visas, and reinstate “Remain in Mexico” and other Policies that helped reduce Illegal Immigration by historic lows in President Trump’s first term. We will also invoke the Alien Enemies Act to remove all known or suspected gang members, drug dealers, or cartel members from the United States, ending the scourge of Illegal Alien gang violence once and for all. We will bring back the Travel Ban, and use Title 42 to end the child trafficking crisis by returning all trafficked children to their families in their Home Countries immediately…. President Trump and Republicans will reverse the Democrats’ destructive Open Borders Policies that have allowed criminal gangs and Illegal Aliens from around the World to roam the United States without consequences. The Republican Party is committed to sending Illegal Aliens back home and removing those who have violated our Laws…. Republicans will cut federal Funding to sanctuary jurisdictions that release dangerous Illegal Alien criminals onto our streets, rather than handing them over to ICE. We will require local cooperation with Federal Immigration Enforcement.” SOURCE

Former President Trump has been uneven in his support for reducing foreign-worker numbers. His 2016 platform stated, “America’s immigration policy must serve the national interest of the United States, and the interests of American workers must be protected over the claims of foreign nationals seeking the same jobs” (SOURCE) and his “10-part immigration plan” called for choosing immigrants based on merit, skill, and proficiency and for establishing new controls to boost wages and to ensure that open jobs are offered to American workers first. (SOURCE)  While in office, Trump supported legislation such as the RAISE Act and the Securing America’s Future Act (see above) that would have reduced jobs competition for American workers (SOURCE, SOURCE) and issued Proclamation 9994 to stop the issuance of most foreign worker visas due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (SOURCE)

During the current campaign, Trump’s platform calls for prioritizing merit-based immigration and putting American workers first (SOURCE), but he has also proposed issuing green cards to every foreign national who graduates from a U.S. college or university (SOURCE) and has explicitly stated that “we’re going to let a lot of people come in, because we need more people.” SOURCE

While running for office in 2016, former President Trump opposed amnesty for illegal aliens and his platform explicitly opposed it:

“We oppose any form of amnesty for those who, by breaking the law, have disadvantaged those who have obeyed America’s immigration policy must serve the national interest of the United States . . . The executive amnesties of 2012 and 2014 are a direct violation of federal law and usurp the powers of Congress as outlined in Article I of the Constitution. These unlawful amnesties must be immediately rescinded by a Republican president. In a time of terrorism, drug cartels, human trafficking, and criminal gangs, the presence of millions of unidentified individuals in this country poses grave risks to the safety and sovereignty of the United States. Our highest priority, therefore, must be to secure our borders and all ports of entry and to enforce our immigration laws.” SOURCE

Once elected, Trump issued an executive order (later voided by the courts) to cancel the DACA program, with the intent of canceling amnesty for around 800,000 illegal aliens (SOURCE), but also indicated that he supported Congressional efforts to amnesty up to two million ‘Dreamers” and that he would sign both the “Goodlatte I” and “Goodlatte 2” immigration bills that had amnesty components. (SOURCE, SOURCE, SOURCE). Trump also proposed legislation to amnesty DACA recipients in exchange for $25 billion in border wall funding. SOURCE

During the current campaign, Trump’s official platform fails address his previous support for a permanent DACA amnesty, but does promise to “deport… millions of illegal Migrants (sic)” and to “reverse the Democrats’ destructive Open Borders Policies that have allowed criminal gangs and Illegal Aliens from around the World to roam the United States without consequences. The Republican Party is committed to sending Illegal Aliens back home and removing those who have violated our Laws.” SOURCE

While running for office in 2016, former President Trump’s platform failed to mention visa overstays (SOURCE), but he did highlight the problem later in his campaign, including it in his “10-part immigration plan:”

“For years, Congress has required a biometric entry-exit visa tracking system, but it has never been completed. In my administration, we will ensure that this system is in place at all land, air, and sea ports. …Last year alone, nearly a half a million individuals overstayed their temporary visas. Removing visa overstays will be a top priority of my Administration. If people around the world believe they can just come on a temporary visa and never leave — the Obama-Clinton policy — then we have a completely open border. We must send the message that visa expiration dates will be strongly enforced.” SOURCE

While former President Trump consistently stated during his 2016 campaign that he opposed granting birthright citizenship to the children of illegal aliens (SOURCE, SOURCE), his official policy platform did not mention it. SOURCE

While in office, Trump spoke of the need to limit birthright citizenship (SOURCE) and in October, 2018, stated that he would be issuing an executive order to reinterpret the 14th Amendment (SOURCE); such an executive order was never issued.

During his 2024 campaign, Trump has spoken of the need to eliminate birthright citizenship for the children of illegal aliens (SOURCE) and has said that he intends to eliminate it on his first day in office if victorious. SOURCE

While running for the presidency in 2016, Trump’s official policy platform did not mention reducing overall immigration numbers (SOURCE), but he did include “keep(ing) immigration levels, measured by population share, within historical norms.” SOURCE

While in office, Trump supported legislation such as the RAISE Act and the Securing America’s Future Act (see above) that would have reduced overall immigration to the United States. (SOURCE)

During the present campaign, and despite his official platform calling for merit-based immigration so that American workers are not crowded out of the labor force (SOURCE), Trump has reiterated his support for increasing immigration across the board (SOURCE) and for “stapling” a green card to the diploma of every foreign national who receives a two or four-year degree from a U.S. tertiary institution. SOURCE