Trump says he would deport all undocumented immigrants
Donald Trump says he would send in U.S. ground troops to fight Islamic State militants, “police” the Iran nuclear agreement, ask potential Supreme Court nominees their thoughts on abortion, rescind President Barack Obama’s DREAM Act and deport all undocumented immigrants if he were elected president.
“The executive order gets rescinded,” Trump said in a wide-ranging interview that aired on NBC’s “Meet The Press” on Sunday. “We’re going to keep the families together, but they have to go.”
On the subject of IS, the Republican frontrunner said he would combat the terror group by taking away their oil — and use profits from the sale of that oil to help wounded U.S. soldiers.
Trump trashed the Iran nuclear deal — calling Secretary of State John Kerry “incompetent” for negotiating an agreement that’s “going to lead to nuclear holocaust” — but said he would not rip it up on the first day of his theoretical administration.
“I will police that deal,” the real estate mogul said. “You know, I’ve taken over some bad contracts. I buy contracts where people screwed up and they have bad contracts. But I’m really good at looking at a contract and finding things within a contract that even if they’re bad. I would police that contract so tough that they don’t have a chance. As bad as the contract is, I will be so tough on that contract.”
Trump also said he would not necessarily support shutting down the government to defund Planned Parenthood like some of his GOP rivals have vowed to do.
“It’s something I’d have to think about to be honest with you,” the former “Celebrity Apprentice” host said. “I don’t want to give a hard and fast answer to that. It bothers me greatly that they’re doing the abortions. At the same time, women’s health issues are, you know, very important to me.”
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On the issue of abortion, Trump said he’s evolved to a pro-life position, but there are exceptions: “rape, incest [and] if the mother is going to die.”
Also Sunday, Trump released his formal plan for immigration reform, calling for a wall across the southern border to be paid for by Mexico, the defunding of so-called sanctuary cities and the “mandatory return of all criminal aliens” to their home countries.
“In short, the Mexican government has taken the United States to the cleaners,” Trump writes in a policy paper published on his campaign website. “We will not be taken advantage of anymore.”
Among his plan’s details:
Detention—not catch-and-release. Illegal aliens apprehended crossing the border must be detained until they are sent home, no more catch-and-release.
Defund sanctuary cities. Cut-off federal grants to any city which refuses to cooperate with federal law enforcement.
Enhanced penalties for overstaying a visa. Millions of people come to the United States on temporary visas but refuse to leave, without consequence. This is a threat to national security. Individuals who refuse to leave at the time their visa expires should be subject to criminal penalties; this will also help give local jurisdictions the power to hold visa overstays until federal authorities arrive. Completion of a visa tracking system – required by law but blocked by lobbyists – will be necessary as well.
[…]
End birthright citizenship. This remains the biggest magnet for illegal immigration. By a 2:1 margin, voters say it’s the wrong policy, including Harry Reid who said “no sane country” would give automatic citizenship to the children of illegal immigrants.
Trump talks to the media after arriving by helicopter to the Iowa State Fair. (Photo: Charlie Riedel/AP)
While the first votes in the 2016 presidential cycle are still more than five months from being cast, Trump’s candidacy — if not his positions — appear to be resonating. According to a Fox News national poll released Sunday, Trump (25 percent) has a 13-point lead over Ben Carson (12 percent) among likely Republican primary and caucus voters:
• Donald Trump - 25%
• Ben Carson - 12%
• Ted Cruz - 10%
• Jeb Bush - 9%
• Mike Huckabee - 6%
• Scott Walker - 6%
• Carly Fiorina - 5%
• John Kasich - 4%
• Marco Rubio - 4%
• Rand Paul - 3%
• Chris Christie - 3%
• Rick Santorum - 1%
• Rick Perry - 1%
• Bobby Jindal - 1%
• George Pataki - 1%
The poll results seem to have made Trump bullish on his chances.
“In four years, you’re going to be interviewing me and you’re going to say, ‘What a great job you’ve done, President Trump,’” he told “Meet The Press” host Chuck Todd. “You’re going to say, 'You have done one of the great jobs.’ It’s going to happen.”
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