WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump laid out the “four pillars” of his controversial immigration reform plan last night during his first State of the Union address, urging all sides to come together in what he termed the best prospect for a compromise in the past three decades.
Coming on the heels of a tumultuous month, including a stand-off over the fate of hundreds of thousands of young undocumented immigrants or “Dreamers” that triggered a three-day government shutdown, Trump sought to highlight his personal wins: slashing regulations, cutting taxes for corporations and wealthy Americans, and victories against ISIS in the Middle East, the president spoke of his hopes for immigration reform.
“It is time to reform these outdated immigration rules, and finally bring our immigration system into the 21st century,” he said. “These four pillars represent a down-the-middle compromise, and one that will create a safe, modern, and lawful immigration system.”
“Tonight I am extending an open hand to work with members of both parties, Democrats and Republicans, to protect our citizens, of every background, color, religion, and creed,” he added. “Because Americans are Dreamers, too.”
On another important domestic issue, Trump declared that “one of my greatest priorities” this year is reducing soaring prescription drug prices. Trump has promised before to force drug manufacturers to control their prices, but so far has done little to make good on that pledge.
When addressing North Korea, possibly America’s most dangerous adversary, Trump offered a dark portrayal of the North Korean regime, hitting them on human rights abuses and warning of the threat they could soon pose to the U.S. and its allies with nuclear missiles, but his rhetoric fell short of the fiery tone he has used in the past to denounce and antagonize North Korea leader Kim Jung Un.
Here are three of Trump’s most important pronouncements during his one-hour and 22-minute appearance in the House chambers:
IMMIGRATION
Segueing from talk of prison reform, Trump called for an end to “open borders,” asserting that previous administration policies allowed drugs and gangs to “pour into our most vulnerable communities.” In doing so he implicitly tied Latino immigrants to crime, which Trump did routinely on the 2016 campaign trail.Trump’s critics denounced him for taking a racist stance.
Trump went on to discuss his own immigration reform plan, which he touted as a “fair compromise” where both parties get some of what they want, but which sees significant opposition on both sides of the aisle.
Trump recently unveiled his proposal offering a path to citizenship over 10-12 years for 1.8 million young undocumented immigrants, also known as Dreamers. The Dreamers could become citizens, Trump stated, provided they meet education and “good moral standing” requirements.
He also called for securing the southern border by building a wall and hiring more immigration and border control agents. Trump’s second pillar would cost an estimated $25 billion; Democrats have long opposed spending for a wall, reminding voters that Trump has long-promised that the Mexican government would pay for it.
Third, Trump called for an end to the visa system, which he referred to as a “lottery,” instead calling for a solely merit-based system. The current visa system already takes merit into account.
Finally, Trump called for an end to family reunification, or, as white nationalists and the White House refer to it, chain migration. He pointed to it as a way that criminals were able to enter the U.S., brought in as distant relatives of legal immigrants.
INTERNATIONAL POLICY / TRADE
When Trump turned to the issue of foreign policy, he stuck to a familiar script for this administration: Stern words for North Korea, Cuba, and Venezuela; criticism of the “unfairness” of current trade deals; and soft reproach of Russia in scripted speeches.
When discussing our adversaries, Trump’s harshest words were left for North Korea, which he criticized for human rights abuses, and highlighted the death of former University of Virginia student Otto Warmbier, and the journey of Ji Sung-Ho, a North Korean defector.
Russia was only uttered one time in the speech, and it was in the same breath as his lone critique of China. There was no mention of Trump’s decision to withhold implementation of a new round of sanctions against Russia for meddling in the last U.S. election.
“Around the world, we face rogue regimes, terrorist groups, and rivals like China and Russia that challenge our interests, our economy and our values,” he said.
Trump also issued a warning about North Korea’s attempts to expand its military arsenal. ?
“North Korea’s reckless pursuit of nuclear missiles could very soon threaten our homeland,” said Trump. “We are waging a campaign of maximum pressure to prevent that from ever happening.”
Trump did not go into specifics on how his administration plans to address the threat of North Korea.
The president also seemed to criticize the Obama administration’s approach to North Korea, which largely consisted of a relatively-diplomatic approach of sanctions and intelligence.
“I will not repeat the mistakes of past Administrations that got us into this very dangerous position,” said Trump. “We need only look at the depraved character of the North Korean regime to understand the nature of the nuclear threat it could pose to America and to our allies.”
Trump also touted the economic and travel sanctions he imposed on Cuba and Venezuela, and denounced the countries ?as “socialist dictatorships.”
When it came to the issue of trade, Trump returned to one of his favorite themes of his campaign stump speeches by talking about the need to restructure our current trade deals.
“America has also finally turned the page on decades of unfair trade deals that sacrificed our prosperity and shipped away our companies, our jobs and our nation’s wealth,” he said. “The era of economic surrender is over. From now on, we expect trading relationships to be fair and to be reciprocal.”
GUANTANAMO / NATIONAL SECURITY
Trump urged Congress to “end the defense sequester”, referring to the Budget Control Act of 2011 which puts an automatic limit on defense spending. ?The administration is seeking a $716 billion defense budget for 2019, a 7 percent increase from the 2018 budget, according to the Washington Post.
Congress has a Feb. 8th deadline to either pass the 2018 appropriations bill or pass another Continuing Resolution or stop-gap spending bill to avoid another government shutdown. .
Trump took the first step in fulfilling his campaign promise to keep the military prison at Guantanamo Bay open and “load it up with some bad dudes.” The president announced a new executive order reversing the Obama era mandate to close the detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, during his speech.
The order requires the Secretary of Defense and other appropriate executive departments and agencies within 90 days, to recommend, “policies governing transfer of individuals” to the detention center.
Out of the 241 detainees the Obama administration inherited, only 41 remain at the detention center. However, that number could increase under this new order.
In a brief mention of Afghanistan, the president echoed the new rules of engagement that allowed U.S. forces to open fire without being in direct contact with the enemy. The change initiated by Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis also increases the number of U.S. and allied advisers to Afghan units.
“Along with their heroic Afghan partners, our military is no longer undermined by artificial timelines, and we no longer tell our enemies our plans,” Trump said.