Deportations are necessary but not sufficient

After the worst border surge in history, we face an unprecedented challenge to reduce the illegal population

Border Czar Tom Homan has doubled interior removals since taking charge. The Biden administration released at least six million inadmissible aliens into the country over just four years. At the current rate of deportations, it would take twenty four and a half years to remove that many people. If Homan were able to double removals again, it would still take over a dozen years to rectify Biden’s abuse of parole; and it would take thirty years to remove the official estimate of a total 15 million illegal aliens in the country.

Arrests and removals are necessary but not sufficient for a successful enforcement system. We need force multipliers. There is good news on that front. Governors of Florida and Virginia are leading the way on state cooperation with federal immigration enforcement agencies. The Attorney General of Ohio has promised to follow suit if he is elected governor. In Congress, budget proposals include funding for these collaborative efforts that we will fight to get passed through the “Reconciliation” process.

Congress must not stop there.

The best way to reduce the population of illegal aliens is to take away their ability to illegally make money. The good news: Rep. Ken Calvert has already introduced a bill in the House to make it much harder to work illegally in the United States; the Legal Workforce Act has bi-partisan support. Five Representatives signed onto the bill last month thanks to constituent encouragement. Reality check: only seven Representatives (less than 2% of the House) have signed on to cracking down on illegal hiring. No immigration reform proposal gets more bi-partisan lip service than E-Verify, yet the system remains voluntary.