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Writer's pictureHowie Klein

Days Before His Accursed Inauguration, Trump’s Hollow Promises On Mass Deportation Are Crumbling

The GOP’s Immigration Agenda Is Cruel, Costly And Unworkable



Other than Marjorie Traitor Greene and Lauren Boebert, I don’t know how many congressional Republicans are real xenophobes down to their souls. Some, I’m sure, but probably not nearly as many as their constituents, who have been enabled to expressed their bigotry since Trump came down that escalator at Trump Tower in New York.


Xenophobia— and scapegoating of “the other’— is as old as America— if it started with anti-Catholic prejudice from the colonial days through the 1800s’ ascent of the know Nothings, it has victimized people from Ireland, Germany, China, Italy, Eastern Europe (especially Jews), Africa, Japan, Latin America, even Puerto Rico which is part of the U.S. and whose residents are citizens.


The current outbreak, which Republicans have fully and successfully politicized, is aimed primarily at Mexicans and Central Americans but extends to Chinese, Indians and Muslims as well. It has a lot to do with Trump’s successful election campaign. But yesterday, his border czar, Tom Homan, warned Republican lawmakers not to expect the expulsion of millions of “illegals” that Trump and his surrogates had promised. Trump had boasted to his MAGAt followers that he said the number deported was at least 15 million and possibly 20 million. That ain’t happenin.


Annie Grayer wrote that “Homan has privately told Republican lawmakers to temper their expectations for the incoming administration’s initial deportation operation, citing limited resources, according to multiple sources involved in the conversations. While Trump’s allies have floated measures to detain and deport people residing in the US illegally, the plans largely depend on the resources and funds available to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which historically has had budget shortfalls.”


The discussions are part of a broader level-setting that is occurring among House Republicans, who are now coming to terms with the challenges of turning one of their key campaign promises into a reality. Republicans are also grappling with the harsh realization that most of their border overhaul measures are unlikely to be included in Trump’s massive agenda bill, given the strict rules around the reconciliation process that require proposals to either increase revenue or reduce spending, not change policy.
…In recent meetings with House Republicans, Homan, a veteran of immigration enforcement, has outlined a tiered approach to Trump’s mass deportation pledge, according to lawmakers and sources involved in the discussions.
Homan and lawmakers are using current government funding levels to craft a plan that targets between 1 and 2 million undocumented immigrants who are eligible for removal as quickly as possible, according to multiple sources in the discussions. There are currently about 1.4 million people in the US with final immigration orders of removal.
“Homan has been telling some of the members that ‘Hey, if you want me to do all these things that you’re talking about, this costs money, and it’s not being done with the CR that’s in place now,” one GOP lawmaker told CNN, referring to the continuing budget resolution that simply extends the current level of DHS funding.
…Homan said he would need a minimum of 100,000 beds to detain undocumented immigrants— more than doubling the 40,000 detention beds ICE is currently funded for— and would require more ICE agents. The agency has around 6,000 immigration enforcement officers.
…[M]any lawmakers are acknowledging that getting Homan the funding he would need to undertake an unprecedented deportation effort would be extremely challenging.
Republicans are trying to massively cut government spending across the board, yet all parties involved acknowledge that increasing deportations will cost significantly more than what the government has currently allocated.
According to an initial estimate by the American Immigration Council, deporting 1 million people per year would cost approximately $88 billion annually and $960 billion over a 10-year period. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported 271,484 immigrants last fiscal year under Biden, marking the highest level of deportations since 2014, according to an annual report. Obama deported around 400,000 in one year, but a large number of those were people who had only recently crossed the border. Trump faces a steeper challenge in targeting those already in the country.
Yet with the next government funding deadline two months away, top House appropriators tell CNN they haven’t even been given top-line numbers to begin working with, making their ability to plan how to scale up funding for deportations that much more challenging.
“While there may be some private discussions going on, nobody is talking publicly right now about March 14. And it’s going to get here pretty soon. We’re right at two months away. We need to fund this government,” GOP Rep. Steve Womack, a senior House GOP appropriator, told CNN. “It will be unacceptable for us to blame our inaction that we just ran out of time.”

“It will cost a lot to deport,” Biggs told CNN. “But guess what? It will also save a lot. And it’ll be a net benefit.” [That’s a complete lie.]
But despite all of the pitfalls ahead, Republicans know they have to start somewhere, and argue that once the deportations under Trump start, there is a serious likelihood that undocumented immigrants will self-deport. There is also an acknowledgment that Trump’s expected executive orders will do a lot to get the process of addressing deportations, closing down the border and overhauling the immigration system started. Republicans also say there is a serious need to address staffing at ICE and secure enough detention beds.
Groups of Republicans are scheduled to be at Mar-a-Lago this weekend to meet with Trump directly and are looking for direction and an honest conversation about what’s next.
GOP Rep. Clay Higgins, part of one of the groups expected to meet with Trump this weekend, said while Trump may see the challenges ahead, it’s not stopping him from aiming high.
“He says, ‘I understand the complications. Work through them. Make it happen. I want it done yesterday,’” Higgins said of Trump’s mindset.

Republicans claim to champion fiscal responsibility, yet they are pushing a deportation fantasy with a multi-billion-dollar price tag— one they have no intention or capability of funding. Worse still, their “solutions” ignore the root causes of migration, offering nothing but xenophobic grandstanding. This is not governance; it’s theater, performed at the expense of real human lives. Furthermore, their obsession with these mass deportations is not only a logistical and financial quagmire but also a moral stain on the nation. It weaponizes fear and hate for political gain while creating untold suffering for millions of people who contribute to this country every day. Trump’s hollow promises and the GOP’s inability to deliver on them reveal a deeper truth: their entire immigration agenda is built on cruelty, dysfunction, and lies.


Trump’s empty boasts and unrealistic demands on deportations expose the heart of his leadership: a conman’s knack for promising the impossible to keep his base enthralled. His obsession with scapegoating immigrants is not about policy; it’s about maintaining power through division and hate. The Republican lawmakers enabling this charade should be ashamed— but shame, it seems, is not a currency they trade in.



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