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Trump’s Immigration Strategy: Insights from Former Advisor Carlos Trujillo

In a recent interview with CNN’s Michael Smerconish, former Congressman Carlos Trujillo, who advised Donald Trump’s campaign on Latino issues, discussed the administration’s approach to immigration, particularly targeting undocumented individuals in the U.S. Trujillo indicated that the strategies of targeted arrests and mass deportations are not mutually exclusive, suggesting that the administration is poised to implement both simultaneously.

Trujillo claimed that the Trump administration intends to focus on “ten million people” who he alleges entered the United States unlawfully during the Biden administration. This assertion, however, lacks a clear source. Data from the Pew Research Center shows that as of 2022, there were approximately 8.3 million unauthorized workers in the U.S., who constituted about 3.3% of the population. In contrast, the number of lawful immigrants rose significantly, from 24.1 million in 2000 to 36.9 million in 2022.

Further insights into immigration numbers were provided by the Wall Street Journal, which reported that the Congressional Budget Office estimates net immigration from January 2021 onwards to be around 9.3 million—more than tripling the net increase over the previous four years.

Trujillo emphasized the importance of a strategic and thoughtful approach to the planned immigration enforcement. He dismissed extreme measures often portrayed in the media, such as the notion of raiding public schools to detain children, stating that the administration is committed to a more systematic method. “We’re talking about individuals who have entered the country illegally and have had law enforcement contacts; those are the first people who need to be removed from this country,” he stated. This approach, he argued, serves not only to secure the safety of the undocumented individuals involved but also to protect the American populace.

When discussing how the Trump administration would locate undocumented residents, Trujillo noted that they would start with individuals who have had previous law enforcement interactions. He mentioned the potential use of biometric procedures available in prisons and jails as a means of identification. “If you’re pulled over for driving without a license or another infraction, those individuals are already well-documented due to biometric data,” he noted.

Recently, Trump announced the appointment of Tom Homan, the former U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director, as his “Border Czar,” marking a significant step in shaping the immigration enforcement strategy. Homan served as ICE’s director from January 2017 until June 2018.

For those interested in more details, you can view the full interview with Trujillo on CNN.

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