Subject: An Extensive Guide To The Fact Checks, Debunks, And Criticisms Of Trump’s Bogus Immigration Policy Proposals
From: Kristian Ramos <[email-masked]>
To: Kristian Ramos <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 12 May 2016 16:00:54 -0400

An Extensive Guide To The Fact Checks, Debunks, And Criticisms Of Trump’s
Bogus Immigration Policy Proposals
<https://mediamatters.org/research/2016/05/12/extensive-guide-fact-checks-debunks-and-criticisms-trump-s-various-problematic-policy-proposals/210365#Media
Call Out Trump’s “Impractical,” “Clueless,” And “Inhumane” Immigration Plan>

Over the course of the 2016 presidential primary, presumptive Republican
presidential nominee Donald Trump has laid forth a series of problematic
policy proposals and statements -- on immigration -- that media have warned
to be “dangerous,” “fact-free,” “unconstitutional,” “contradictory,”
“racist,” and “xenophobic.” Media Matters compiled an extensive list of
Trump’s widely panned immigration policy plans thus far along with the
debunks and criticism from media figures, experts and fact-checkers that go
along with them*.*
Trump Advocates For Mass Deportation And Ending Birthright Citizenship

AP: Trump's Immigration Plan Would Deny Citizenship To The Children Of
Undocumented Immigrants Born In The U.S. In an immigration plan announced
in August, Donald Trump called for the end of birthright citizenship,
expanded immigration enforcement efforts such as "deportation for millions"
of undocumented immigrants, and a permanent border wall, which he would
"make Mexico pay for." [Associated Press, 8/17/15
<http://bigstory.ap.org/article/8d1c480b2bb7487f8ee3d7a7f0b75e91/trump-deny-citizenship-babies-people-illegally-us>;
DonaldJTrump.com, accessed 5/9/16
<https://www.donaldjtrump.com/positions/immigration-reform>]
Media Call Out Trump’s “Impractical,” “Clueless,” And “Inhumane”
Immigration Plan

Bloomberg: Trump’s “Impractical” Immigration Plans Would Cost Billions Of
Dollars To Implement.Bloomberg outlined four reasons that Trump’s
immigration proposal is “impractical” and noted that the plan wasn’t likely
to become a reality because his policy prescriptions are “impractical,
expensive and may violate NAFTA as well as the U.S. Constitution, according
to experts.” [Bloomberg*,* 8/17/15
<http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-08-17/reality-check-4-reasons-trump-s-immigration-plans-are-impractical>
]

*USA Today*’s Raul Reyes: Trump's “Clueless” Immigration Plan Is
“Impractical At Best And At Worst Inhumane.” In a CNN.com op-ed, Raul
Reyes, an attorney and member of the *USA Today* board of contributors,
explained that Trump's immigration policy plan is full of ideas that “are
impractical at best and at worst inhumane,” adding that “his plans could
well stunt our economic growth.” Reyes also referred to the idea that
Mexico would pay for a border wall as "laughable." [CNN.com, 8/17/15
<http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/17/opinions/reyes-trump-immigration/>]

*Wash**.** Post* Editorial Board: “Trump's Immigration Plan Would Wreak
Havoc On U.S. Society." *The Washington Post's *editorial board wrote on
August 17 that Trump’s immigration proposal “is nothing less than
manufacturing a humanitarian upheaval on a scale rivaling the refugee
crisis in Syria.” The board referred to the proposal as "nativist rhetoric"
and noted that the labor markets in construction, hospitality, child care
and landscaping would be “severely disrupted.” [*The Washington Post*,
8/17/15
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/donald-trumps-immigration-plan-would-wreck-havoc-on-us-society/2015/08/17/19703368-451d-11e5-8ab4-c73967a143d3_story.html?tid=pm_opinions_pop_b>
]

Univision's Jorge Ramos: Trump's Deportation Plan “Would Create Massive
Human Rights Violations” And Cost Billions. On August 17, Fusion and
Univision anchor Jorge Ramos called Trump’s plan to build a wall “absurd
and a waste of money,” noting that most undocumented immigrants come by
plane. Ramos also noted that Trump’s deportation plans would cost billions
and would “create massive human rights violations.” [Twitter.com, 8/17/15
<https://twitter.com/jorgeramosnews/status/633468800633999360>; 8/17/15
<https://twitter.com/jorgeramosnews/status/633468487340441600>]

CNN En Español's Juan Carlos Lopez: Trump's Proposals "Don't Make Sense." CNN
En Español host Juan Carlos López pointed out that Trump's proposals "don't
make sense" during the August 17 edition of*Directo USA*, adding that the
plan isn't feasible as it would violate current free-trade agreements and
require a constitutional amendment which is unlikely to pass. [Translated
from CNN en Español, *Directo USA*, 8/17/15
<http://mediamatters.org/embed/static/clips/2015/08/18/41443/cnnenespanol-directousa-juancarlostrump-8172015>
]

*La Opinión*: Trump's Massive Deportation Plan: "Huge Expenditure" And
"Economic Decrease." *La Opinión* cited a March 2015 study by the
conservative American Action Forum to state that Trump's plan would raise
federal spending by $600 billion, while "notoriously reducing" the size of
the American economy. [Translated from *La Opinión*, 8/17/15
<http://www.laopinion.com/deportacion-masiva-enorme-gasto-y-decrecimiento-economico>;
American Action Forum, 3/6/15
<http://americanactionforum.org/research/the-budgetary-and-economic-costs-of-addressing-unauthorized-immigration-alt>
]
Trump Praised Eisenhower’s Deportation Program During November Debate

Trump Praises Eisenhower's Deportation Procedures: "You Don't Get Nicer,
You Don't Get Friendlier."During the November 10 Fox Business Republican
debate, Trump praised Dwight Eisenhower's deportation program, which moved
"a million and a half illegal immigrants out of this country." Trump
claimed, "you don't get nicer, you don't get friendlier" than Eisenhower,
while failing to disclose the name of the program, "Operation Wetback.”
[Fox Business, *Republican Presidential Candidates Debate*, 11/10/15
<http://mediamatters.org/embed/clips/2015/11/11/43119/fbn-republicanpresidentialdebate-20151110-operationwetback>
]
Media Slam Trump For Invoking “An Unabashedly Racist Program” As A Model
For His Immigration Plans

Slate: The "Brutal" Program Cited By Trump Was "Not Exactly A Proud Moment
In American History." A November 11 Slate article said that the program
Trump "loves so much" was "brutal." Slate elaborated on the methods used
during "Operation Wetback," which included transporting immigrants on cargo
boats "that a Congressional investigation likened to an '18th century slave
ship'" and "[t]rain-lifts across the borders ... described by observers as
'indescribable scenes of human misery and tragedy." The article concluded
that the deportation program was "not exactly a proud moment in American
history.” [Slate, 11/11/15
<http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/11/10/trump_loves_eisenhower_deportation_program_operation_wetback.html>
]

*Wash**.** Post*: The Program "Trump Intends To Follow" Has Been Considered
By Many Scholars "A Painful Part Of National History." *The Washington
Post* reported
that "the deportation model that Donald Trump says he intends to follow,"
which included migrants being "'brought like cows' into the desert," has
been "considered by many immigration scholars as a painful part of national
history because of the documented abuse that Mexican migrants suffered
during and after their deportations.” [*The Washington Post*, 11/11/15
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/09/30/donald-trumps-humane-1950s-model-for-deportation-operation-wetback-was-anything-but/>
]

*Rolling Stone*: Trump Endorsed "An Unabashedly Racist Program In Which
Nearly A Million Human Beings Were Terrorized By Our Government." *Rolling
Stone *condemned Trump for "reviv[ing] his execrable anti-immigrant
politics" by endorsing an "unabashedly racist program" where nearly a
million immigrants were "treated with less dignity than farm animals." The
article pointed out that the "policy that Trump praised" created "an
indelible stain on our history.” [*Rolling Stone*, 11/10/15
<http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/donald-trump-just-endorsed-operation-wetback-at-the-gop-debate-20151110>
]

*Newsweek*: The Policy Trump Cited As "An Example Of Successful
Deportation" Has Been Called "Dehumanizing" By Historians. *Newsweek* reported
that, although Trump's "suggestion sounded compassionate," a deportation
program like Eisenhower's "could have harsh implications for the
undocumented today." The article noted that "historians have questioned
both the efficacy and the ethics of the 1950s policy" that Trump cited "as
an example of successful deportation.” [*Newsweek*, 11/11/15
<http://www.newsweek.com/candidates-immigration-debate-392730>]

*The New Republic*: Trump "Turned A Horrific Episode In American History
Into Kind Of A Fairytale." *The**New Republic *described how Trump "tried
to make mass deportation seem almost folksy" by turning "a horrific episode
in American history into kind of a fairytale.”[*The New Republic*, 11/10/15
<http://www.newrepublic.com/article/123419/republican-debate-immigration-returns-forefront>
]

Univision's Jorge Ramos: The Eisenhower Plan Trump Cited Was A "Tragedy,
Useless and Unfair."Fusion and Univision anchor Jorge Ramos denounced the
flaws in Trump's deportation plan, tweeting that it can't be done in "two
years without human rights violations." He called Eisenhower's "Operation
Wetback" -- which Trump cited as a blueprint for his own plan -- a
"tragedy, useless and unfair." [Twitter.com, 11/11/15
<https://twitter.com/jorgeramosnews/status/664418297023234048>]

NBC Latino Contributor: Trump Brought "Radical Notions" To Mainstream
Politics, Invoking Program That "Led To Massive Civil Rights Abuses And
Even Deaths." Providing commentary on the debate as part of a Latino panel,
NBC Latino contributor and *USA Today* board of contributors member Raul
Reyes chastised Trump for bringing "radical notions into the mainstream of
politics" noting that it was "astonishing" that Donald Trump would invoke
"Operation Wetback.” [NBCNews.com, 11/11/15
<http://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/how-did-they-do-our-latino-panel-weighs-republican-debate-n461241>
]
Trump Says He’ll Force Mexico To Pay For A Border Wall By Cutting Off
Remittances

*Wash. Post*: Trump Would "Cut Off The Flow Of Billions" In Remittances
Sent To Mexico As Leverage To "Force Mexico To Pay For A Border Wall."
According
to an April 5* Washington Post *report, Trump said he "would seek to force
Mexico to pay for his 1,000-mile border fence" by "threatening to cut off
the flow of billions of dollars in payments that immigrants send home to
the country." [*The Washington Post*, 4/5/16
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-would-seek-to-block-money-transfers-to-force-mexico-to-fund-border-wall/2016/04/05/c0196314-fa7c-11e5-80e4-c381214de1a3_story.html>
]
Media, Experts Criticize Trump’s Remittance Plan As “A Mistake,” Question
Its Legality

CNN's Chris Cuomo Asks Whether Trump's Plan To Block Remittances Would Be
"Abusing The Victims." On the April 5 edition of CNN's *New Day*, host
Chris Cuomo asked Trump campaign representative Healy Baumgardner whether
Trump's proposal to block immigrant remittances as leverage would be
"abusing the victims," noting that the recipients of remittances are often
"incredibly impoverished families.” [CNN, *New Day*, 4/5/16
<http://mediamatters.org/embed/static/clips/2016/04/05/45773/cnn-newday-cuomoremittances-4516>
]

ABC's Tom Llamas: “It’s Unclear” If Trump's Proposal To Block Remittances
As Leverage Is "Even Legal." ABC correspondent Tom Llamas raised doubts
about Trump's plan, saying it would "choke the Mexican economy." "It's
unclear if that's even legal and it would definitely fracture our
relationship with a key ally and a trading partner,” said Llamas on the
April 5 edition of ABC’s *Good Morning America.* [ABC,*Good Morning America*
, 4/5/16
<http://mediamatters.org/embed/static/clips/2016/04/05/45772/abc-gma-tomllamasblockmoney-4516>
]

Univision Noticias: Expert Explained That Trump's Plan To Block Remittances
"Is Not Feasible." In a report updated on April 5, Univision Noticias'
Damià S. Bonmatí slammed Trump's plan, explaining that according to an
expert on remittances, Manuel Orozco, the plan "is not feasible."
[Translated from Univision Noticias, accessed 4/5/16
<http://www.univision.com/noticias/destino-2016/remesas-lo-que-trump-quiere-confiscar-y-latinoamerica-necesita-para-crecer>
]

ABC News Cites Experts Who Say "Blocking Money Transfers" To Mexico "Would
Be A Mistake." In an April 5 article, ABC News' Susanna Kim explained the
consequences of implementing Trump's plan. Kim cites Aaron Klein, a
Brookings Institution fellow, who said the plan "would be a pretty sharp
departure from current practice" and that the laws that Trump intends to
change -- the Patriot Act and the Dodd-Frank bill -- "were never intended
to be used to threaten to cut off the flow of migrant worker remittances
for foreign policy aims." According to another expert, Michael Clemens,
senior fellow with the Center for Global Development, "Mr. Trump's notions
about remittances offer one of many examples of his outright ignorance
about economics, and even worse, his lack of interest in basing policy on
facts." [ABCNews.com, 4/5/16
<http://abcnews.go.com/Business/economic-ramifications-trumps-border-wall-proposal/story?id=38161205>
]

Slate: Trump's Timeline For Plan Is Not "How The Painstaking Process Of
Federal Rulemaking Typically Works." In an April 5 article, Slate senior
business and economics correspondent Jordan Weissman poked holes in Trump's
plan to block remittances as a way to pressure Mexico to pay for a border
wall, saying Trump's three-day plan "is not how the painstaking process of
federal rulemaking typically works," and that remittance service providers
would probably litigate the plan "and lock this issue up in court for
years.” [Slate, 4/5/16
<http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2016/04/05/donald_trump_unveils_his_plan_to_make_mexico_pay_for_a_border_wall.html>
]

Fox News Latino: Experts "Questioned The Legality" Of Trump's Plan, Called
It "A Large Expansion" Of What The Patriot Act Allows. On April 5, Fox News
Latino's Andrew O'Reilly wrote that Trump's plan "raises complicated legal
questions." Experts he quoted enumerated concerns with Trump's proposal to
block remittances to Mexico, including "driv[ing] more people into the
illicit economy," and they raised questions about the legality of expanding
the reach of the Patriot Act, as well as potential damage to the American
economy. [Fox News Latino, 4/5/16
<http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2016/04/05/trump-says-hell-force-mexico-to-pay-for-border-wall-by-freezing-money-transfers/>
]

Univision's Detector De Mentiras: Experts Say Trump's Plan "Would Be
Extreme And Outside Of Current Legal Parameters." On April 5, Univision's
fact-checking division, Detector de Mentiras, considered whether the
president of the United States would have the power to implement Trump's
plan to block remittances to Mexico. According to experts they consulted,
including former Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere
Affairs Arturo Valenzuela, Trump's "absurd measure" has no "legal or
political basis." [Translated from Univision.com, Detector de Mentiras,
4/5/16
<http://especiales.univision.com/detector-de-mentiras/fact/contexto-trump-la-tendra-dificil-si-intenta-confiscar-las-remesas-de-los-latinos/>
]
###