(AP)
Donald Trump just released his first official campaign policy paper.
In an 1800-word proposal, Trump expands on his controversial comments about immigrants living in the US illegally, and suggests taking audacious measures to curb illegal immigration that even some of his Republican rivals have shied away from.
Here are the main points:
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Make Mexico pay for an impenetrable wall along the southern US border. Until Mexico pays for a wall, Trump proposes increasing fees on visas for Mexican CEOs and diplomats, cutting foreign aid to Mexico, and impounding "all remittance payments derived from illegal wages."
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Deport every immigrant living in the US without permission. Trump goes significantly further than his Republican opponents here, suggesting that the US needs to do deport all immigrants living in the US illegally, and take preventative measures to ensure that no one emigrates to the US illegally. As The Atlantic points out, this would likely cost somewhere between $400 and $600 billion, and would reduce the gross domestic product by 5.7% over 20 years. Trump proposes tripling the number of immigrations enforcement officers to do the job.
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Prevent visa overstays. Trump proposes increasing fees on border crossing cards and increasing fees on all NAFTA worker visas from Mexico in order to prevent workers from overstaying their visas.
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De-fund "sanctuary cities." Trump's proposal aligns with the consensus among the Republican candidates that "sanctuary cities," or local governments that do not comply with Immigrantions and Customs Enforcement agency requests to detain suspected immigrants, should not receive some federal money for law enforcement. Multiple courts have ruled that complying with ICE detainer requests violates the constitution by holding individuals indefinitely without probable cause.
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Enact a nationwide e-verify program. The measure — which was part of the immigration reform package that passed the US Senate in 2013 — would allow employers to check to digitized program to see if a potential employee was legally allowed to work in the US. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida) have also both backed an e-verify program.
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End birthright citizenship. This is a proposal that's been gaining steam with some conservative Republicans in Congress. It would likely require a constitutional amendment, as the 14th amendment specifically grants citizenship to all individuals born in the US. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) also supports ending birthright citizenship.