JOIN USSticking to his harsh immigration rhetoric, Donald Trump today vowed "no amnesty" for millions of undocumented migrants living in the US and threatened to deport them if he becomes president.
Delivering his eagerly awaited immigration policy, hours after meeting Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto in Mexico City, Trump articulated a strong and tough immigration policy, which is quite opposite to that of his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, which is based on compassion and providing a pathway to nearly 11 million illegal immigrants.
Constructing a strong wall along its southern border, immediate deportation of criminal aliens, no amnesty for undocumented immigrants, extreme vetting along with ideological certifications for those seeking into the country and a merit-based legal entry system were some of the key parts of the 10-point immigration policy announced by Trump.
Trump vowed that Mexico would pay for construction of a "great border wall" between the two countries.
"Mexico will pay for the wall. 100%. They don't know it yet, but they're going to pay for the wall," he said, speaking hours after the Mexican President told him in a face-to-face meeting in Mexico City that Mexico would not pay for it.
In the highly anticipated speech in Phoenix in Arizona, Trump said, "anyone who has entered the United States illegally is subject to deportation".
He said any person living in the country illegally who is arrested for any crime whatsoever will immediately be placed into deportation proceedings.
"We will break the cycle of amnesty and illegal immigration. There will be no amnesty. Our message to the world will be this: you cannot obtain legal status, or become a citizen of the United States, by illegally entering our country. This declaration alone will help stop the crisis of illegal crossings and illegal overstays," Trump said.
Asserting that he will reform legal immigration to serve the best interests of America and its workers, Trump said the "time has come for a new immigration commission to develop a new set of reforms to our legal immigration system in order to achieve the goals to keep immigration levels, measured by population share, within historical norms."
"The goal would be to select immigrants based on their likelihood of success in US society, and their ability to be financially self-sufficient," he said.
"We need a system that serves our needs – remember, it’s America First, to choose immigrants based on merit, skill and proficiency and to establish new immigration controls to boost wages and to ensure that open jobs are offered to American workers first.
"We want people to come into our country, but they have to come in legally and properly-vetted, and in a manner that serves the national interest," he said.