Former President Donald Trump proposed imposing hefty tariffs on countries that refuse to accept illegal immigrants being deported from the United States during a speech on Thursday, hinting that if he were to return to the White House, he might link immigration policies with trade. According to Bloomberg, Trump visited the US-Mexico border on that day and delivered a speech near the Coronado National Memorial in Montezuma Pass, Arizona, emphasizing immigration and border security issues.
“These countries need to take them [illegal immigrants] back, and if they don’t, we won’t trade with them, and we will impose high tariffs on them,” said Trump. Immigration remains a cornerstone of Trump’s campaigns. He pledged to complete the construction of a border wall along the entire border and carry out the largest-ever illegal immigrant deportation operation in US history.
Trump continues to view trade wars and tariff barriers as integral parts of his economic development policies. In June of this year, he also proposed the idea of using increased tariffs to partially offset income tax cuts, especially targeting tariffs on hostile countries.
During this border visit themed “Make America Safe Again,” participants included a mother who lost her child due to crimes committed by illegal immigrants, the Cochise County Sheriff, and the head of the Border Patrol Union.
Throughout the visit, Trump offered a direct comparison between the border wall he built during his administration and the work done by his Democratic opponent and Vice President Kamala Harris for ensuring border security.
Contrasting sharply with the towering border wall (Trump Wall) stood a pile of steel beams (materials for the barrier wall construction), as Border Patrol Union Chairman Paul Perez pointed and said, “On the left is what we call Harris’s wall. It’s just sitting there, serving no purpose.”
This was Trump’s first border visit since February and one of a series of events held in battleground states this week. During this tour of battleground states, Trump visited Pennsylvania, Michigan, and North Carolina and will hold events in Las Vegas and the Glendale suburb of Phoenix on Friday.
Immigration and border security remain top concerns for voters in this year’s election. After President Biden announced his withdrawal from the race, Republicans blamed Vice President Kamala Harris for not doing enough to ensure border security during her tenure in the Biden administration.
A few weeks ago, Trump’s campaign partner, Republican Vice Presidential candidate for Ohio and Senator JD Vance, also delivered a speech at the same location near the border.
On Thursday, Vance spoke at a campaign rally in Georgia, saying, “As long as Harris steps down, we will no longer open the door to illegal immigrants or Mexican drug cartels. This is our solemn commitment to the American people.”
Recent poll results show that Trump’s immigration policy stance resonates with voters. A poll conducted by CNN in January, commissioned by survey firm SSRS, showed that about half of the American respondents supported large-scale deportations of undocumented immigrants.
On June 4, Biden signed an executive order issuing new border control measures, stating that if the daily number of illegal immigrants entering exceeds 2500, the border will be closed until the number drops to below 1500 per day.
Due to the suspension of asylum applications, the number of arrests for illegal border crossings from Mexico in July plummeted by 33%, reaching the lowest levels since September 2020.