Mark Levin: Trump sounds like Jeb Bush on 'Dreamers'
On his show last night, conservative talk show host Mark Levin said (at the 1-hour, 27-minute mark) that when it comes to the illegal alien so-called "Dreamers," Donald Trump sounds just like Jeb Bush.
Trump said, "You have these incredible kids, in many cases..."
Levin points out that in some cases, these "kids" are now "middle aged men. They're like 36 years old who were here as children."
Trump added, "We are going to deal with [Dreamers] with heart."
Levin said, "You know what he sounds like here? Jeb Bush, who he trashed on this issue. Trashed brutally! He's adopted Jeb Bush's policy when it comes to the Dreamers."
Trump adds, "I find it very very hard to do what the law says to do."
Levin said, "This is amazing to me."
And to me, too. During the primaries, Trump criticized Bush for calling illegal immigration an "act of love," and now, as president, he is talking about how incredible the children of illegal aliens are, and how he wants to treat them with "heart." Obviously, he has no intention of deporting any significant number of them.
This is troublesome for three reasons. First, once illegal children are allowed to stay, they will get permission for their families to stay or return to the U.S. via chain migration. That incentivizes line-cutting and rewards illegal immigration. It has always been the main incentive for bringing children into the country illegally. Expect more of it if Trump rewards the "Dreamers."
Second, the DREAM Act has been plagued with a sky-high approval rate for all applicants: 93% at last count and as high as 99% in previous years. This, from some of the most gang- and crime-plagued countries on Earth. That doesn't sound like vetting, does it?
Third, the "Dreamer" program was an unconstitutional act by President Obama, a vast overreach of his power not authorized by statute. By continuing it and making it his own program, President Trump is also violating the Constitution. It's a sad precedent for a Republican president to follow, and opens the door for other unconstitutional actions in the future. Donald Trump has just said, in public, that he finds it hard to enforce the law. In other words, he intends to ignore the law just as Obama did.
Here's what Trump said on Meet the Press in August 2015:
Donald Trump would reverse President Obama's executive orders on immigration and deport all undocumented immigrants from the U.S. as president, he said in an exclusive interview with NBC's Chuck Todd.
Trump said, to begin, "we have to" rescind Obama's executive order offering those brought to the U.S. illegally as children – known as DREAMers – protection from deportation, as well as Obama's unilateral move to delay deportation for their families as well.
It's disappointing he decided not to keep this campaign promise. I guess he just used it as rhetoric to jab Jeb Bush and never really meant it.
Ed Straker is the senior writer at NewsMachete.com.