Is President Trump’s mass deportation plan collapsing in slow motion? With the Iran war and the Eric Swalwell scandal, we haven’t heard much about what is going on with ICE and the president’s campaign promise to deport as many illegal immigrants as possible.
Declining Enforcement
President Trump suggested the administration could quote “use a little bit of a softer touch” after Renee Good and Alex Pretti were killed in confrontations with immigration agents in Minnesota in January. Those controversial incidents coincided with a drop in polling support for the administration’s immigration enforcement policies.
Since then, Border Patrol “Commander at Large” Gregory Bovino has retired, President Trump removed Kristi Noem as Department of Homeland Security chief, and border czar Tom Homan formally ended Operation Metro Surge in Minneapolis. Those crazy-ass protesters succeeded. You have to admit it.
So what does that mean for immigration enforcement? Well, the numbers are in and ICE detentions are down big. After a record number of illegal immigrants were in custody in January, the figure dropped 12 percent by the end of March. That marked the first time detentions have had a major decline in Trump’s second term.
In January, an average of nearly 72,000 illegal immigrants were in ICE detention every day. By March, that number was 63,277. The decline was primarily driven by the drop in arrests of illegal immigrants without criminal records.
Steyer’s Statement
But the story isn’t just about the numbers. The left is totally emboldened on this issue, making outlandish claims about what they want to do to stop ICE even further.
Exhibit A: the California gubernatorial campaign of far-left billionaire Tom Steyer.
While our friend, GOP candidate Steve Hilton, still leads the open primary polling in the RealClearPolitics average, betting markets have Steyer as the overwhelming favorite following Swalwell’s withdrawal from the race. The expectation is that Democrats will come together and support Steyer in the general election after splitting their votes in the primary.
On Tuesday, Steyer put out a lengthy statement on X titled “How California Can Put ICE in Jail,” in which he promised to abolish ICE. He explained he would “put ICE agents and their leadership in jail for their crimes because that’s how you take on a violent extremist group and win.” Steyer added that he would do it “the same way we took on the mob” and also claimed he would “bring those detained and kidnapped by ICE back home.” Unbelievable.
So not only does he want to stop deportations, he wants to bring back illegal immigrants we have already sent home?
Continued Crime
If Steyer gets his wish, one thing we know is that he will be totally immune from the consequences of mass migration into the U.S. A former hedge fund manager, Forbes estimates his net worth at $2.4 billion and there have been a series of recent reports about his multiple lavish homes. It’s safe to say he won’t have many new immigrants as neighbors any time soon.
So, he won’t have to worry about, say, 26-year-old Olaolukitan Adon Abel, who was taken into custody Monday following a string of shootings across DeKalb County, Georgia, that left two women dead and a third person, a homeless man, in critical condition. The U.K. national is a U.S. citizen only because the Biden administration made him one in 2022.
Lauren Bullis, 40, is one of the victims. She was known as a friendly face in her neighborhood who walked her dog daily. A neighbor told local NBC affiliate 11Alive News sicko shot Bullis and then pulled her clothes and pants off her.
According to Fox News’ Bill Melugin, DHS confirmed he had prior convictions for sexual battery, battery against a police officer, and assault with a deadly weapon.
‘Clear and Present Danger’
You would have to be willfully ignorant to not recognize that we have an immigrant crime problem in our country, including from people like Abel who were even allowed to become citizens.
Yes, Renee Good’s and Alex Pretti’s deaths were tragic, but President Trump promised to solve our open border problems and the trend line isn’t looking good right now. Distractions abroad should not be an excuse to pull back on the clear and present danger here at home.
You can check out Megyn’s full analysis by tuning in to episode 1,296 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s The Megyn Kelly Channel (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.