The promise was mass deportation. The policy is carve-outs.
It was printed on signs, chanted at rallies, and repeated by the candidate himself. Americans who cast their ballots on that promise had every reason to believe it meant what it said.
Useful takeaways from this story.
It was printed on signs, chanted at rallies, and repeated by the candidate himself.
Americans who cast their ballots on that promise had every reason to believe it meant what it said.
Nearly two years into this administration, it is fair to ask whether that promise is being kept.
Building the complete brief
The page is ready to read now. The fuller skim-friendly version will appear here automatically.
The useful part
It was printed on signs, chanted at rallies, and repeated by the candidate himself. Americans who cast their ballots on that promise had every reason to believe it meant what it said. Nearly two years into this administration, it is fair to ask whether that promise is being kept.
How it works
- As long as the jobs are there and the penalties for employers are weak, no amount of border rhetoric will change the math.
- I spent 24 years in federal immigration enforcement and retired as deputy field office director for ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations in New York City, the largest field office in the country.
- Removals are a pipeline: locating the person, arresting him, detaining him, getting a final order through an overwhelmed court system, and putting him on a plane.
- Many people assume a deportation is nearly complete once an officer puts someone in handcuffs.
- In reality, the foreign government has to be notified, and it has to confirm the person's identity and issue a travel document.
Details worth keeping
Voters were not confused about what they were choosing in 2024. "Mass deportation" was not a line buried in a white paper. By the government's own numbers, it is falling short.
Keep reading in the app
Open the app view to save this story, compare related coverage, and continue from the same source.