Alt-Right/Trump and Immigration: the Price of Protection (Aug. 25)

Mike & Co. –

Over the last 48 hours, Donald Trump has elaborated on his immigration policy, noting that while many illegal immigrants would be deported, those not deported would instead pay “back taxes.”  While widely reported as a “softening” of his traditional rhetoric, these new details raise serious questions about how tax delinquency could be used as a legal basis for deportation.

Though Trump’s campaign cancelled a major speech on immigration in Colorado scheduled for Thursday, Trump has said he will lay out further details on his immigration plan over the next week.

For now, we examine this idea of a quid pro quo involving payment of taxes and protection from deportation from a legal perspective, and trace its roots to the “alt-right” movement in American conservative politics.

Best,

Dana

——–

The Alt-Right Movement

The alternative right, or Alt-Right, is a relatively new force in conservative politics, first appearing in media references as recently as 2010.  It is supported primarily by mostly white, young men with strong social media proficiency and a belief in tribal psychology.  Alt-Right opposes the Republican establishment for betraying traditional American culture of free market economics and rejects the notion that economic efficiency should be thesummum bonum of conservative values.

Much of Alt-Right philosophy features a natural conservative mindset, appealing to many who unapologetically support a prioritization of the interests of their own demographic, namely white America.  Natural conservatives favor homogeneity over diversity, stability over change, and hierarchy and order over radical egalitarianism.  Their instinctive wariness of the foreign and the unfamiliar has resulted in a racial and nationalistic approach to American politics, currently not embodied by any of the main political parties.  Feeling abandoned by the establishment GOP, many natural conservatives have joined the Alt-Right movement in supporting Donald Trump.

Trump’s Alt-Right Relationship

While Trump had not been formally endorsed by any Alt-Right leader or group, he has certainly adopted its rhetoric and ideology to develop policy and promote his campaign.  Former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke has said that Trump has not created the Alt-Right movement, but instead is “something he tapped into.”  His America First agenda reflects some of the core beliefs of Alt-Right, including reducing overseas interventions, limiting free trade as an economic peril, and targeting illegal immigration for national security reasons.

The Alt-Right ideology clearly has strong implications for economic and immigration policy, among the chief policy priorities of Donald Trump.

From the beginning of his campaign, Trump has pushed a hardline on immigration policy, using inflammatory and offensive rhetoric on illegal immigrants and supporting a 1,500-mile maximum security wall along the US-Mexico border.  Trump’s immigration policy in most respects has reflected the Alt-Right goal to protect the “white tribe” from foreign threats.

Concerning Shift on Immigration Policy

This week, Trump has sought to convey openness to a “softening” of laws affecting undocumented immigrants, which many have seen as a distancing from his previous hardline stance.  Trump reiterated his intention to build a wall on the US-Mexico border, and later added that while no illegal immigrants would receive citizenship, others will pay back taxes, stressing “there’s no amnesty, but we will work with them.”

Yesterday he said that while illegal immigrants would not receive US citizenship, he suggested that some pay back taxes, while the “bad ones” will still be sent out of the country.  He reiterated that those who would pay back taxes would still not receive citizenship or amnesty.

In the face of this idea, HRC said today, “Don’t be distracted by his latest attempts to muddy the waters. He may have some new people putting new words in his mouth, but we all know where he stands,” adding that he would form a “deportation force” and halt the “bedrock constitutional principle” of birthright citizenship.”

On closer examination, Trump’s recent comments on immigration broach new legal ground.   In distinguishing between illegal immigrants who are deported and those who pay back taxes, Trump may have made a disturbing connection between tax delinquency and deportation.   From another perspective, he proposes to make protection from deportation available at a price, in taxes.

Legal Precedent

There appears to be some legal precedent for tying tax delinquency to deportation.  In 2012, the Supreme Court affirmed a ruling in the Kawashima v. Holder case, in which an immigration judge ordered the removal of two resident aliens following convictions for tax-related crimes.  The two immigrants found guilty of false corporate tax returns were not US citizens, but were legal residents of the country.  The judge found their crimes to be “aggravated felonies” and grounds for deportation.

In addition, the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, signed into law in December 2015, included a tax provision requiring the Department of State to deny passports and passport renewals to serious delinquent taxpayers, and to revoke passports previously issued to such delinquents.

Under current law, people undergoing deportation proceedings may apply for a Cancellation of Removal, which requires proof that a person has resided in the US for 10 years, has maintained a “good moral character” throughout those years with no criminal offenses, and has experienced “exceptional and extremely unusual hardship.”  While paying taxes could qualify as part of establishing one’s moral character, it is not an explicit requirement, and judges possess a high degree of discretion in approving applications for cancellation.  Whether paying taxes as a sort of “deportation insurance” to prevent removal would be deemed legal by the US judicial system is open question as likely a case of first impression.

48 thoughts on “Alt-Right/Trump and Immigration: the Price of Protection (Aug. 25)”

  1. Thanks for the suggestions about credit repair on this particular web-site. The things i would offer as advice to people is usually to give up a mentality that they buy at this point and pay back later. As being a society most of us tend to repeat this for many factors. This includes trips, furniture, in addition to items we really want to have. However, it is advisable to separate one’s wants from the needs. As long as you’re working to raise your credit ranking score you really have to make some trade-offs. For example you may shop online to economize or you can check out second hand outlets instead of high priced department stores intended for clothing.

  2. I simply needed to thank you so much once again. I am not sure the things that I would’ve made to happen without the type of secrets provided by you on such a question. It seemed to be a very frustrating issue in my opinion, however , observing the very specialised strategy you processed that made me to leap over gladness. I am just happy for this information and in addition pray you know what a great job you happen to be getting into teaching people thru your web page. More than likely you have never got to know any of us.

  3. This is a really good tip especially to those fresh to the blogosphere.
    Short but very accurate information… Thanks for sharing this
    one. A must read post! 0mniartist asmr

  4. Hello are using WordPress for your site platform?
    I’m new to the blog world but I’m trying to get started and set up my own. Do you need any
    coding knowledge to make your own blog? Any help would
    be really appreciated!

  5. Having read this I believed it was very enlightening.
    I appreciate you spending some time and effort to put this information together.
    I once again find myself spending a significant amount of time
    both reading and commenting. But so what, it was still worth
    it!

  6. Thank you for every other informative blog.
    Where else may just I am getting that kind of info written in such a perfect means?
    I have a venture that I’m just now operating on, and I’ve been on the look out for such information.

  7. I know this if off topic but I’m looking into starting
    my own blog and was wondering what all is needed to get set up?
    I’m assuming having a blog like yours would cost a
    pretty penny? I’m not very web savvy so I’m not 100% positive.

    Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated.
    Kudos

  8. Wonderful work! This is the kind of information that should be shared across the internet.
    Shame on the seek engines for now not positioning
    this publish upper! Come on over and consult with my web site .
    Thank you =)

  9. Amazing things here. I’m very happy to look your post.
    Thanks a lot and I’m taking a look forward to touch you.
    Will you please drop me a e-mail?

  10. We are a group of volunteers and opening a new scheme in our community.
    Your web site provided us with valuable info to work
    on. You’ve done an impressive job and our entire community will be thankful to you.

  11. Greetings, I think your site could be having web browser compatibility
    issues. Whenever I take a look at your web site in Safari,
    it looks fine however, if opening in Internet Explorer,
    it’s got some overlapping issues. I merely wanted to provide you with a quick heads up!
    Apart from that, excellent site!

  12. Wow, superb blog layout! How long have you been blogging for?
    you make blogging look easy. The overall look of your website is magnificent, as well as the content!

  13. scoliosis
    If some one desires to be updated with most recent technologies after that he must
    be pay a visit this web page and be up to date every day. scoliosis

  14. scoliosis
    I was wondering if you ever thought of changing the page
    layout of your blog? Its very well written; I love what youve got to
    say. But maybe you could a little more in the way of content so people could connect
    with it better. Youve got an awful lot of text for only having one or
    2 images. Maybe you could space it out better?
    scoliosis

  15. free dating sites
    Woah! I’m really enjoying the template/theme of this website.
    It’s simple, yet effective. A lot of times it’s tough to get that “perfect balance” between user friendliness and visual appearance.
    I must say you have done a great job with this.
    In addition, the blog loads very fast for me on Firefox.
    Excellent Blog! https://785days.tumblr.com/ free dating sites

  16. Very nice post. I just stumbled upon your weblog and wished
    to say that I’ve truly enjoyed browsing your
    blog posts. In any case I will be subscribing to your feed and I hope you write again very soon!

  17. I’m not sure why but this website is loading extremely slow for me.

    Is anyone else having this issue or is it a problem on my end?
    I’ll check back later and see if the problem still
    exists.

  18. Have you ever considered about adding a little bit more than just your articles?
    I mean, what you say is fundamental and everything. Nevertheless just
    imagine if you added some great graphics or videos to give your posts more, “pop”!
    Your content is excellent but with images and videos, this blog could undeniably be one of the greatest in its field.
    Wonderful blog!

  19. Hi there fantastic website! Does running a blog like this require a large amount of
    work? I have virtually no expertise in programming but I was hoping to start my own blog in the near future.
    Anyhow, should you have any ideas or techniques for new blog
    owners please share. I know this is off topic nevertheless I just had to ask.
    Appreciate it!

  20. Hi there! This post could not be written any better!
    Reading this post reminds me of my good old room mate!

    He always kept chatting about this. I will forward this page to him.
    Fairly certain he will have a good read. Many thanks for sharing!

  21. I am extremely impressed with your writing skills and also with the layout on your weblog.
    Is this a paid theme or did you modify it yourself? Either way keep up the excellent quality
    writing, it is rare to see a great blog like this one
    nowadays.

  22. Pretty section of content. I just stumbled upon your blog
    and in accession capital to assert that I acquire actually enjoyed
    account your blog posts. Anyway I’ll be subscribing to your feeds and even I achievement you access consistently quickly.

  23. Please let me know if you’re looking for a article author for your weblog.
    You have some really great posts and I feel I would be a good asset.
    If you ever want to take some of the load off, I’d love to write some content for your
    blog in exchange for a link back to mine. Please shoot me an e-mail
    if interested. Many thanks!

  24. Hi my family member! I want to say that this
    article is amazing, nice written and include approximately all significant infos.
    I’d like to peer extra posts like this .

  25. Do you mind if I quote a couple of your posts
    as long as I provide credit and sources back to your site? My website
    is in the very same niche as yours and my visitors would really benefit from some of
    the information you present here. Please let
    me know if this alright with you. Appreciate it!

  26. I must thank you for the efforts you’ve put in penning this site.
    I am hoping to check out the same high-grade content by you later on as well.

    In fact, your creative writing abilities has motivated
    me to get my very own blog now 😉

Leave a Reply to gay site

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *