Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis Slam Illegal Immigration in Competing Iowa Guest Editorials

On Wednesday, Republican Presidential hopeful and current Florida Governor Ron DeSantis penned a guest editorial for the Des Moines Register on illegal immigration — and he hit all the right notes.

The war is being waged on us by Mexican drug cartels, who are bringing Chinese-manufactured fentanyl across our southern border, killing our citizens. And they’re trafficking innocent children to be sexually abused.
The crisis is with the millions of illegal aliens pouring into our country, overwhelming local jurisdictions and escaping accountability. Without the ability to know who is coming into our country, we run the risk of terrorists entering through the southern border to perpetrate a horrific attack. And without the ability to control our border, we lose our sovereignty as a nation.

That last sentence is the key point; at the moment, we effectively have no southern border. And, as has been said time and again by almost everyone to the right of Leon Trotsky, a nation without borders is no nation at all.

Here's the money shot from Governor DeSantis:

Finally, we will deport the millions of migrants released into every corner of this nation by empowering our ICE agents, streamlining the court process, and adamantly insisting our existing immigrations laws are followed. The mistakes of the past will be rectified under the DeSantis administration.

Remember that; we'll be coming back to it.

Not to be outdone, Former President Trump, also on Wednesday, likewise editorialized on this issue in the Des Moines Register. (Bear in mind that the nation's first nomination contest is the Iowa caucuses, which happen on January 15th.)

On my first day back in office, I will terminate every open borders policy of the Biden administration and immediately restore the full set of strong Trump border policies.
Then, we will begin a record-setting deportation operation. Joe Biden has given us no choice. The millions of illegal aliens who have invaded under Biden require a record number of removals. This is just common sense.
To achieve this goal, I will make clear to every department and to state and local governments that we must use all resources and authorities available. We will shift massive portions of federal law enforcement to immigration enforcement — including parts of the DEA, ATF, FBI, and DHS.
I also will invoke the Alien Enemies Act to remove known or suspected gang members, drug dealers, or cartel members from the United States. And we will use Title 42 to end the child trafficking crisis at last.

Mass deportations — both DeSantis and Trump are promising them, and this would be — logistically and politically — the most difficult to pull off. We're talking about the forcible removal of millions of people. Not that this shouldn't be done — it should; illegal entry into our country should not, must not be rewarded by allowing the illegals to remain. But it's a huge issue, will cost millions, maybe billions of taxpayer dollars, and bear in mind that Congress has to approve spending. This will be a Herculean task, and cleaning the Augean stables looks like a quiet afternoon's task by comparison.

Again, that doesn't mean it can't and shouldn't be done. But it's not going to be as easy as signing a couple of executive orders.

Some other things can be done — and should. Closing the border — with the military, if necessary — is a no-brainer, and every GOP candidate is promising that the border will be closed, should the voters reward them with a chair at the Resolute Desk. Putting harsh penalties in place for employers who hire illegals will help, but that's a matter for Congress to decide.

There's no doubt that illegal immigration is a losing issue for Democrats at the moment; all of their efforts are failing catastrophically.

Whichever Republican candidate can best frame this issue and convince primary voters that they have the answer will have an edge in the primary, and that field is narrowing down fast; and whichever presidential candidate can convince enough of the American people that they can deal with this crisis will have an edge in the general.

Illegal immigration is, without much doubt, one of the key issues on which the 2024 election will hinge. It may be the issue that decides 2024. On this front, Ron DeSantis is making all the right noises. But this is also an issue that people associate with former President Trump, and he clearly is not about to let anyone else steal that from him. Keep an eye on this — the primary season starts in just a few more days!