After begging voters to "pretend" he was on the ballot, Trump got socked with a monster rebuke, one of the worst midterm drubbings ever.
asserted
Trump → beg → drubbings
But the same man who sprang up shouting "fight!" after surviving an assassin’s bullet, and who came back from political Siberia to win the popular vote in 2024, will not go quietly into the night.
asserted
who → spring → night
President Trump wants to be one of the greatest presidents of all time, not just to his MAGA base, but to all Americans.
asserted
Trump → want → Americans
How could he do that?
uncertain
he → do → that
To be considered great, a president must leave the U.S. permanently changed for the better.
asserted
president → consider → better
FDR created our nation’s safety net to counteract economic downturns, for instance, while Ronald Reagan ended the decades-long Cold War by driving the collapse of the Soviet Union.
asserted
Reagan → create → Union
Coming up with a balanced approach to immigration, an issue that has bedeviled our country for the past century or longer, is in the same league.
asserted
that → come → league
President Trump admitted on "60 Minutes" the other night that his immigration program had gone too far.
asserted
program → admit → Minutes
In particular, he said that while he thought his administration got "high marks" for "getting the bad ones out", he got hurt "because we also took people that had good jobs, that — that created one violation, or breaking of the law, and that was that they came into the country illegally."
asserted
they → say → country
Early in his second term, over half the country signaled their approval of Trump’s successful closure of our wide-open southern border and the deportation of gang members and other illegal criminals.
asserted
country → signal → members
But, as aggressive ICE raids into immigrant communities brought fear and ultimately, violence, attitudes shifted.
asserted
attitudes → bring → fear
By the time voters handed Democrats a landslide win last week, Real Clear Polling averages showed Trump’s approval on immigration underwater by more than 10 points.
asserted
approval → hand → points
As I’ve written repeatedly, the vast majority of Americans — Republicans and Democrats — support legal immigration.
asserted
majority → write → immigration
Most citizens came from somewhere else and applaud those who follow.
asserted
who → come → those
That said, Americans were appalled to watch thousands of migrants cross the southern border illegally every day while Joe Biden was president; allowing millions to enter the country unvetted, unvaccinated and undocumented was criminal.
asserted
millions → say → country
Trump’s promise to secure the border was a major reason he was elected in 2024, but he took that win as a mandate to eject everyone who was in the U.S. illegally.
asserted
who → secure → U.S.
In January of this year, I argued on Fox News that the White House’s overreach on immigration might cost Republicans the House in the midterms, and here we are.
uncertain
we → argue → midterms
Some think that in choosing Stephen Miller, reportedly the author of Trump’s aggressive deportation program, as his chief of staff, the president is indicating that the harsh approach will continue.
uncertain
approach → think → staff
Just as it took ardent anti-communist President Richard Nixon to open up China, it might take ardent anti-immigrant Stephen Miller to help President Trump fix what is broken.
uncertain
what → take → Miller
If the administration presented a sensible and fair program to the public, Democrats would dismiss it at their peril.
asserted
Democrats → present → peril
But there is a way:
1) First, the GOP and the White House must present a program that will continue to attract the best and the brightest to our country while not putting our own citizens at a disadvantage.
asserted
that → be → disadvantage
Instead of allowing entry based on family sponsorship (chain migration) or through the unpopular diversity visa program, which the White House has attempted to eliminate, establish a point-based merit system that prioritizes skills and capability, such as that used in Canada.
asserted
that → allow → Canada
In 2019, Trump proposed such an approach; it is the right way to go.
asserted
it → propose → approach
2) Second, the president must provide a path to legal status for those living in the country illegally but who have built lives here and committed no crime beyond their initial entry.
asserted
who → provide → entry
Determine that they will never be citizens, but they will emerge from the shadows, work and pay taxes legally.
asserted
they → determine → taxes
This is not "amnesty", but the attainment of legal status which should win the support of Democrats and the country.
asserted
which → win → Democrats
3) Third, since about half of undocumented people living in the U.S. have not entered illegally but instead overstayed their visas, securing the border, though essential, is not good enough.
asserted
securing → live → border
Additionally, Congress must require that all employers use E-Verify, a free government-provided service, to screen out workers in the U.S. illegally.
asserted
employers → require → U.S.
Migrants mostly come for economic opportunity; if they cannot work, they will go home.
asserted
they → come → opportunity
Meanwhile, if we need more seasonal workers, increase the number of visas.
4) Fourth, we must eliminate the benefits and enticements, from free healthcare to birthright citizenship, that encourage illegal immigration.
asserted
that → need → immigration
If someone attains legal status, they have a right to put their kids in school and apply for healthcare insurance; if they forego that opportunity, they should be denied such taxpayer-provided services.
asserted
they → attain → services
The Trump White House attempted to end birthright citizenship by executive order, but the Supreme Court narrowly declared the rule illegal.
asserted
rule → attempt → order
Congress needs to change the law.
asserted
Congress → need → law
5) Finally, we must stop including illegals in the census.
asserted
we → stop → census
Including undocumented people rewards politicians like those governing California and New York, who purposefully attract illegals with benefits, since it leads to more federal aid and more House seats and Electoral College votes for their states.
asserted
it → include → states
No immigration program can gain traction unless it is backed by a solid commitment to border security.
asserted
it → gain → security
Trump has shown that preventing illegal immigration does not require a wall; it requires a will.
asserted
it → show → will
Reforming immigration will require much more: dedication to our country’s security and sovereignty.
asserted
Reforming → reform → security
President Trump should roll out a newer, better plan, and challenge the Democrats to stop it.
asserted
Trump → roll → it
The Aporia
