The Left Reacts

As expected the left is reacting furiously to yesterday's announcements by President Trump that we are taking control of our borders and enforcing our immigration laws. Politico writes that liberals are launching "a scorched-earth, not-now-not-ever model of opposition," opting for "a hard-line, give-no-quarter posture, a reflection of a seething base that will have it no other way."

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All across the country yesterday, left-wing mayors and state officials held emergency press conferences vowing to resist President Trump's efforts to enforce our immigration laws.

It is amusing watching these liberal politicians suddenly defending "local control" and "federalism."

Where were these champions of local control last year when the Obama Administration tried to rewrite school bathroom policies coast-to-coast?

Where were these advocates of states' rights when liberal federal judges imposed a radical redefinition of marriage against the will of the voters in 30 states?

During a press conference yesterday, Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser reiterated her plans to ensure that the nation's capital remains a sanctuary city.

"Our message, of course, is always that we want D.C. residents, to not fear calling on their government for help," Bowser said. "When people fear calling on the police for help, it makes the entire city less safe."

I appreciate that the mayor recognizes the importance of public safety. The primary obligation of government is to protect its citizens, Madame Mayor. And the Washington, D.C., region has a major problem with illegal immigrant gangs.

Cities do not have the right to ignore federal law. Moreover, a significant percentage of crime is connected to illegal immigration. And part of Trump's executive order requires the government to be more transparent about that connection.

According to one report, nearly 20,000 illegal immigrants committed roughly 64,000 crimes, including "12,307 drunken driving convictions, 1,728 cases of assault, 216 kidnappings and more than 200 homicide or manslaughter convictions."

The left tolerates this in the name of "compassion." But where is the compassion for the victims? Where is the compassion for hard-working taxpayers?

Mexico Responds

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto cancelled a planned meeting with President Trump next week, and again vowed that Mexico would never pay for a border wall. Trump shrugged it off, tweeting, "If Mexico is unwilling to pay for the badly needed wall, then it would be better to cancel the upcoming meeting."

President Trump isn't going to delay construction of the wall waiting for Mexico to pay up. But there are plenty of ways to make Mexico pay.

As President Trump has noted, most of Mexico's exports come to the United States. We hold all the cards here, and an import tariff is one way to pay for the wall.

Economist Stephen Moore has suggested a "user fee" as another option. Charge people crossing the border a fee to pay for the wall.

Here's another idea: Tax the remittances (money sent to Mexico) by immigrants in this country. It has been estimated that Mexico received more than $20 billion in remittances last year, the vast majority of it was sent by illegal immigrants.

By the way, let's not forget that Congress passed the Secure Fence of 2006, but never fully funded it. For all the hysteria about "Trump's wall," more than two dozen Senate Democrats voted for the Secure Fence Act, including Senate Democrat Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY), as well as then-Senators Barack Obama, Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton.

Here's the bottom line: The status quo is unacceptable, and there are ways to get things done. All that was lacking was the will to act.

Is The U.N. Next?

The New York Times reports that the Trump Administration may be taking aim at the United Nations, drafting executive orders "to drastically reduce the United States' role in the United Nations and other international organizations."

Among the ideas under consideration: "terminating funding for any United Nations agency" that grants "full membership to the Palestinian Authority or Palestine Liberation Organization, or support programs that fund abortion or any activity that circumvents sanctions against Iran or North Korea." The order also targets organizations that sponsor terrorism or engage in human rights abuses.

The White House is reportedly seeking a major reduction in funding, perhaps as much as 40%, to international organizations which, among other things, "oppose important United States policies."

Refugee Reform

There are also reports that the Trump Administration is getting ready to suspend visas from several nations known to be hotbeds of radical Islamic extremism. President Trump also wants to reform our refugee program and institute a process of "extreme vetting."

No doubt the left and its media allies will denounce the move as an example of bigotry. But a disturbing report from the Los Angeles Times explains why this is nothing more than just common sense. Consider this excerpt:
 

"Federal agents are reinvestigating the backgrounds of dozens of Syrian refugees already in the United States after discovering a lapse in vetting that allowed some who had potentially negative information in their files to enter the country. . . At a minimum, the intelligence would have triggered further investigation that could have led some asylum applications to be rejected."

Among the cases being reviewed are a refugee who "failed a polygraph test when he applied to work at a U.S. military installation" and another believed to be in contact with an ISIS leader.