President Trump plans to hit the gas on his already aggressive immigration agenda next year, according to senior aides.
Topping his list will be the construction of one mile a day of new border wall, aggressive challenges to judicial hurdles, and a new merit-based green card for foreign workers.
“The next year is all about execution. We have a path to complete success on the southern border, the key now is rigorous implementation,” said Trump’s policy chief Stephen Miller.
“We are going to dial that up to the maximum,” he added of the administration’s pressure stop illegal immigration and boost the vetting of those coming to America.
The officials outlined plans to build off the key successes this year, such as getting Latin American countries to provide asylum to immigrants that in the past have headed for the United States, appealing lower court challenges to policy changes, and issuing executive orders to keep immigrants off welfare.
They also said that contracts are in place and planned that will boost the construction pace from 1-2 miles a week to 1 mile a day.
In an interview, Miller said, “This president has accomplished more on immigration than every other president combined.” He added, “For the first time ever we are combating forum shopping and asylum fraud, we are achieving bilateral cooperation asylum agreements, we are requiring state and local consent before refugees are settled in local communities, we are doing social media vetting.
“Things that once seemed impossible are now just everyday achievements.”
Miller also said that the stepped-up security vetting for anyone coming into the U.S. has forced other countries to raise their standards. “We have heightened the security baseline for all of Planet Earth,” said Miller.
And by next year, Trump is expected to have his immigration team in place, although likely in “acting” capacities.
Update Oct. 27: This story was updated to include the change in the pace of construction.
