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Trump’s YouTube is good(ish) news for immigrants

Yesterday president-elect Donald Trump took to YouTube to update the nation on what he plans to do during his first 100 days in office. As we analyzed here, he had previously identified a number of serious immigration policy matters that he planned to tackle as soon as he takes office.

But in the YouTube video, Trump focuses on issues other than immigration. Here is the full video.

Trump says that his “simple, core principle” is to “put America first.” Topping the list of policy priorities, Trump says he will address international trade and energy policy. But immigration is not at the top of the list.

Early in the video, Trump says that he will cancel all of President Obama’s illegal executive actions. As discussed here, Trump includes in that list the program called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).

Only at about two minutes into the video does Trump turn to immigration. And he mentions only one policy idea; an idea that was not included in his prior announcement about his first 100 days in office.

On immigration, Trump says only that he will,

direct the Department of Labor to investigate all abuses of visa programs that undercut the American worker.

That’s it.

Previously, he had said that he would immediately cancel DACA, start “extreme vetting” for all visa applicants, and stop immigration completely from some countries.

Does this mean that Trump has abandoned his prior policy announcement on immigration? Absolutely not. But we think it is at least somewhat encouraging that immigration did not top the list of his policy announcements. Throughout his campaign, Trump focused on his promise to deport all undocumented families from the United States and build a wall across the border with Mexico.

Throughout his campaign, Trump focused on his promise to deport all undocumented families from the United States and build a wall across the border with Mexico. Neither of those promises made their way into his video message.

Is this a reason for immigrant families and their supporters to rejoice? No, not really. But we are on the lookout for any encouraging sign that Trump will not actually follow through with his draconian rhetoric from the campaign.

 

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All Sound Immigration attorneys are members of the American Immigration Lawyers Associations. They practice immigration law exclusively, focusing on helping families start new lives in the United States.

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