While some revenue will be raised by increasing fees to enter the southern border, the result will likely lead to a net negative stream of revenue for the federal government when the effect of lost trade between the United States and Mexico is accounted for. II. Restoring Rule of Law The second leg on Donald Trump’s three-legged stool for immigration reform focuses on enforcing immigration laws and dramatically increasing the number of American law officers focused solely on illegal immigration. In “Immigration Reform That Will Make America Great Again” Mr. Trump writes, “A nation without laws is not a nation. Laws passed in accordance with our Constitutional system of 17 government must be enforced.” The plan consists of the following: tripling ICE officers, the creation and implementation of a national E-verify system, the mandatory return of all criminal aliens, “detention-- not catch and release,” enhanced penalties for overstaying visas, cooperation with local gang task forces, and the ending of birthright citizenship granted by the 14th Amendment. 18 1. Mr. Trump plan would triple the number of ICE officers. In 2015 there were 7,539 full-time officers in Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Detention and Removal Operations division. Trump cites Congressional testimony stating that “only approximately 5,000 officers and agents within ICE perform 19 the lion’s share of ICE’s immigration mission.” H.R. 2278, the Strengthen and Fortify Enforcement Act (113th Congress) would have provided for the hiring of an additional 5,000 deportation officers, 700 support staff, and 60 trial attorneys at a cost of $5.4 billion over five years. NTUF doubled this figure to 20 determine the cost of tripling the number of ICE officers. One study has concluded, however, that if ICE were to only use its forces to fulfill Mr. Trump’s pledge to arrest nearly 9 million undocumented 21 immigrants the cost would be nearly $243 billion. 22 2. Mr. Trump wants to make E-Verify mandatory as opposed to voluntary. In the 113th Congress, Rep. Lamar Smith introduced H.R. 1772, the Legal Workforce Act, which would replace the federal government’s existing voluntary system for verifying the employment eligibility of individuals in the United States with a mandatory system. Assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 1772 would cost about $635 million over the 2014-2018 period and a 23 similar amount in the subsequent five-year period. 17 Trump, Donald, Immigration Reform That Will Make America Great Again 18 Ipid. 19 Ibid. 20 Brady, Demian, What Would Donald Trump’s Immigration Plan Cost? National Taxpayers Union, September 10, 2015. Available at: http://www.ntu.org/foundation/detail/what-would-donald-trumps-immigration-plan-cost 21 Gitis, Ben and Laura Collins, “The Budgetary and Economic Costs of Addressing Unauthorized Immigration: Alternative Strategies,” American Action Forum, March 6, 2015. Available at: http://americanactionforum.org/research/the-budgetary- and-economic-costs-of-addressing-unauthorized-immigration-alt 22 Trump, Donald, Immigration Reform That Will Make America Great Again 23 CBO Staff, H.R. 1772, Legal Workforce Act, Congressional Budget Office, December 17, 2013. Available at: https://www.cbo.gov/publication/44980
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