Trump Inherits Immigration Turmoil

President Donald Trump inherited an immigration system in disarray. The five previous administrations had been so lax on enforcement that generations of people who live here are technically illegal, yet many are as American as apple pie.
Trump Inherits Immigration Turmoil
Immigrants stand for the national anthem during a naturalization ceremony in the Great Hall of Ellis Island in New York on Sept. 16, 2016. Nationwide, more than 730,000 people gained U.S. citizenship in 2015, which is just below the average number for the last 10 years. John Moore/Getty Images
Charlotte Cuthbertson
Charlotte Cuthbertson
Senior Reporter
|Updated:

NEW YORK—President Donald Trump inherited an immigration system in disarray. The five previous administrations had been so lax on enforcement that generations of people who live here are technically illegal, yet many are as American as apple pie.

Immigration courts are so overwhelmed that thousands of hopeful immigrants are being allowed into the country and given a final court decision as far into the future as five years to determine if they can stay. So for five years, they build a life here.

Over the last 40 years, bills and acts and reforms have been stitched together to alleviate certain issues, but often remain words on paper, and sometimes cause secondary problems.

Trump’s recent executive actions on immigration are jarring for millions of Americans who are used to the United States having more porous borders.

But the executive orders include many of the actions Trump campaigned on and a large part of the reason he appealed to so many voters—enforcing existing immigration law, building a wall along the southern border, and stemming terrorism.

President Donald Trump at the Department of Homeland Security in Washington on Jan. 25 signs an executive order for increased border security and immigration enforcement. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
President Donald Trump at the Department of Homeland Security in Washington on Jan. 25 signs an executive order for increased border security and immigration enforcement. AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais
Charlotte Cuthbertson
Charlotte Cuthbertson
Senior Reporter
Charlotte Cuthbertson is a senior reporter with The Epoch Times who primarily covers border security and the opioid crisis.
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