The Patriot Post® · Trump's Address to America's Illegal Aliens

For many months, I have felt strongly — and argued in these columns — that the Trump administration’s present intent to deport all immigrants residing illegally in the United States is a giant mistake. That objective is impossible to achieve in a reasonable time frame; it is an abrogation of the implied commitment, albeit improper, of our own government (the prior administration), a cause of great anxiety and personal hardship for those deported, in some cases inhumane, and ultimately it will prove to be distasteful and unpopular among most Americans.

With that in mind, I’m imagining that the president could — and should — effect a major change in current policy along the lines outlined below, and that he would convey that message directly to the American public via televised address from the Oval Office, as follows:

My fellow Americans — and others who live here:

While my remarks this morning are for all, I am speaking particularly to the millions of illegal aliens presently living in the USA. I know you don’t like the term illegal aliens — I don’t blame you; I don’t like it either! But the simple fact is that any residents who have come here in ways that do not comply with our laws are, by legal definition, illegal aliens. And so now we must decide if you can stay.

As a rule, that would be a simple decision. The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), the U.S. law that governs such matters, is quite clear: noncompliant entry is a misdemeanor punishable by deportation.

But we also recognize the unusual circumstances under which many of you entered the U.S. The previous administration opened our southern border the day they took office and kept it open for four years, and thus they encouraged — and in many cases facilitated — the entry of many millions of unvetted migrants from dozens of foreign countries. For the most part, we still don’t know who they are, where they live, and what burdens and dangers their presence may pose to our American citizens. Sadly, some have already demonstrated that they pose a very serious threat.

My job as president is to protect U.S. citizens, and so of course I cannot permit that current uncertainty and potential threat to persist. But I know as well that many of you came here with the best of intentions — that you took on great personal risk, expense, and hardships in your journey, and that you have already begun to build new lives here, all with the belief that you had the tacit permission of the U.S. government then in place. For you, we have been looking for ways to address the situation as fairly and humanely as possible.

For that reason, I have signed today an executive order establishing a new policy that will make it possible for those of you who have no history of criminal violence or current criminal involvement to continue to stay here indefinitely in a noncitizen status, which we are calling “conditional residence.”

What are the conditions of conditional residence? They are quite simple: become a productive member of our society, work if you can, pay your taxes, and comply with our laws.

You will hear much more of the details of today’s executive order, but the key features are as follows:

• The first step is self-identification and registration, so that we know who you are and where you are. I’ve directed DHS to construct a fully functional registration system — including a simple app for online registration and provisions for in-person registration — within one month. From that point, all illegal immigrants who wish to be eligible for conditional residence will have three months to register.
• This policy applies only to those who are already here. Our border is now closed, and we intend to keep it that way.
• The conditional residency policy does not alter the requirements of the INA; by law, deportation will remain the default option for anyone who does not remain in compliance with provisions of the new policy, just as it is today.
• Conditional residency is not a path to citizenship, nor does it confer the right to vote in American elections. However, if our conditional residency practice succeeds, future administrations may provide such a path.
• In parallel with the implementation of this new policy, we will, without pause, continue to aggressively identify, apprehend, and deport illegal immigrants considered to pose safety threats to our citizenry.

Let me emphasize the importance of self-identification and registration. I understand that most people in your situation would naturally assume it’s safer to stay in the shadows. Just the opposite is true. The only way to qualify for conditional residence is to register, fully and honestly, by the deadline. Once the registration period ends, any unregistered individuals found residing here will be deported under the INA.

We have carefully limited this executive order to actions that I can direct as the president of the United States. However, in this executive order, I am asking Congress to take action to confirm the process in order to provide continuity and confidence that future administrations will not revoke or substantially revise the process I am prescribing today.

Let me be very clear: the conditional residence policy I am announcing today is a far cry from my original intent to rid our country of all who came here illegally. But in light of our experience to date and in full consideration of the circumstances that encouraged millions of you to come here without authorization, I firmly believe that an approach such as this one is even-handed, fair, and consistent with our American values.

I urge you to think of it as a mutual exercise in trust — our trust that you will strive to become good neighbors and your trust that our nation will treat you fairly. We understand and respect your desire to live in this great country, and we want you to succeed in that quest.

We are a nation of immigrants. As many previous generations of immigrants have, we want you to fully assimilate, comply with our laws, and become contributing members of our society. That’s the American dream.

And now, a final point for all Americans. I firmly believe that this step will go a long way to addressing the very real concern expressed by many regarding the difficulty of rapidly locating, apprehending, and removing dangerous illegal aliens from our midst, while at the same time treating those who do not pose a threat — many who have become good neighbors — respectfully and humanely.

Realistically, however, it is clear that the political influencers and agitators who have incited and prompted months of disruption in Minnesota — and in fact are the cause of the two tragic deaths already sustained — will not be satisfied. That is because the ongoing campaign of obstruction to ICE activities in Minneapolis is, at its core, part and parcel of unending “resistance” by our political opponents to anything and everything my administration is doing.

Just listen to the rhetoric from Governor Tim Walz, from nearly all Democrat political leaders, from left-leaning media; we hear the same, tired, sick smears — Nazi! Fascist! Gestapo! Dictator! They have been pushing, hoping to convince the American public that we are not deserving of their support.

I’ve no doubt they will continue to find fault with our new continuing efforts to resolve the challenge of many millions of illegal, unvetted — and some dangerous — immigrants they invited into our country. Don’t buy it — stay with us, and we’ll find a way.

Thank you. And God Bless America!

I have no idea if the president will take this or some similar approach. But I urge him to move boldly and quickly. We need his leadership on this issue, now.