Former Trump Official Seeking to Flip Democrat Senate Seat Announces ‘Deport Them All’ Plan for Illegal Immigration

Illegal immigrants cross into the United States from Mexico to be processed by Border Patrol agents in El Paso, Texas, on May 8, 2023. John Moore/Getty Images

Jeff Gunter, a former Trump official who’s looking to flip a key U.S. Senate seat in Nevada from Democrat to Republican, has announced an initiative to help tackle the border crisis that involves a combination of bolstering border security and assisting with the mass deportation of illegal immigrants.

“Build the Wall, Deport Them All,” Dr. Gunter, a physician and former U.S. Ambassador to Iceland, wrote in a post on X on May 4, saying he refuses “to stand by and watch our communities be destroyed by the flood of illegals.”

Dr. Gunter’s proposal, as outlined in the article he shared, involves investing $1 million of his own money to resume border wall construction and to set up a tip line where everyday citizens can report suspicious activity related to illegal immigration and “expedite the deportation effort.”

Former President Donald Trump has repeatedly vowed to implement mass deportation measures if elected to the Oval Office in November, while calling the massive influx of illegal immigrants into the United States “not sustainable.”

Dr. Gunter vowed to support President Trump in his mass deportation initiative. He also said that, if he wins the Republican primary in June and later manages to beat Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) in the November election, he would work to reinstate the Trump-era “Remain in Mexico” policy, work to resume border wall construction, advocate for enhanced border surveillance, oppose sanctuary cities, and push for mass deportation.

“I will support President Trump as the next U.S. senator, not only shutting the border, not only reinstituting Remain in Mexico and everything else, but I will advocate for the largest deportation program ever seen here in America,” Dr. Gunter told Fox News.

“Why? Because your first act as an American should not be an illegal act,” he said.

‘We Need to Keep America Safe’

The latest data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) shows that another 137,480 illegal immigrants were caught entering the United States between ports of entry in March. This brings the total number of people (excluding gotaways) who entered the country illegally under President Joe Biden to over 9 million—though there are indications that this figure could grossly understate the true tally.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said in mid-April that he believes the 9 million is a vast undercount and that the true number is closer to 16 million.

“Since Joe Biden went into the Oval Office, it began on day one, they began to open that border wide,” the speaker said during an April 10 press conference, while noting that the Biden administration had taken over 60 specific executive actions and agency actions to “open the border wide.”

Republicans have blamed President Biden’s policies for record numbers of illegal immigrants pouring into the country, claims the president has denied.

They have also warned that the influx of illegal immigrants poses a major national security threat, a concern seconded by Dr. Gunter.

“They’re not just illegal immigrants that are coming into this country, they’re 110 percent invaders,” he said. “The Chinese government knows exactly who’s coming into America. We can also see that many of these people are 20 to 30-year-olds of military age. And we need to stop it. We need to keep America safe.”

‘Literally Invading The United States’

The national security warning comes as the number of single, military-aged Chinese nationals entering the United States so far this year has already outpaced any prior year on record.

There’s been a stream of warnings from lawmakers, border officials, and others about the sharp rise in the number of Chinese military-age nationals entering the country illegally, with the numbers hitting staggering levels over the past year or so.

The latest data from CBP shows that the total number of single Chinese adults encountered crossing the border illegally in March was 1,523.

While that may be a significant drop from the record high of 5,248 notched in December, but it still represents a 15,130 percent increase compared to President Trump’s final full month in office (December 2020), when just 10 such individuals who were encountered.

Some analysts have argued that deteriorating economic conditions in China, along with human rights abuses and policies such as draconian COVID-19 lockdowns, are a likely factor behind the increase. Others see nefarious factors behind the jump as a real possibility.

“Why are we seeing this influx?” National Border Patrol Council President Brandon Judd said in a February interview. “At best, they’re just coming here for a better life or a better job. At worst, they’re coming here [as] part of the Chinese government, and that’s what scares me an awful lot.”

Tom Fitton, President of Judicial Watch, blamed the Biden administration’s inaction on the border for the stark numbers while suggesting that the Chinese regime may be exploiting the porous border.

“Don’t get me started about the Chinese illegal aliens crossing,” Mr. Fitton said in a video posted on X. “You think that’s an accident? You think they’re just showing up as migrants? Oh no, that' a Chinese communist government operation.”

“China’s literally invading the United States through these illegal aliens, crossing our border, and Biden isn’t doing anything about it,” Mr. Fitton continued.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment.