I have always opposed the half assed populist approach pursued to the Trump faction, some approaches very vigorously, such as the wall.
I also opposed the approach (or lack thereof) of the left, and some of those (such as sanctuary cities) very vigorously.
My approach would be simple and twofold:
Enforcement:
I would triple the number border patrol agents to 60,000. I would double ICE to approximately 40,000. I would pay for the expansions with savings from defense that would be generated by transitioning a portion of our new attack submarines from nuclear power to diesel-electric power. The courts described below would also be paid for in the same manner.
As has been demonstrated, the wall is useless, having already been breached by being sawed through. Instead, I propose to swarm the border with agents and drones, with the ability to quickly detect and swarm to any detected border crossing. By catching them quickly, they would be subject an expedited removal process.
Courts:
I would abolish the Executive Office of Immigration Review within the Department of Justice, including the current immigration judgeships and the Board of Immigration Review.
I would establish in the Judiciary a number of United States Immigration Courts, either by State or by larger multi-state region. Initially there would be 600 or greater Immigration Judgeships, but these would be reduced by an automatic formula as the current immigration backlog is brought under control. Judges would serve a fixed 15 year term, removable only for cause. They would be appointed by a merit selection process by the appellate court described below. They would be paid 92% of the salary of a United States District Judge (the same as a Bankruptcy Judge or Magistrate Judge receives).
I would establish in the Judiciary a United States Court of Immigration Review. The court would consist of 15 Judges appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate. They would sit in 3 Judge panels to consider appeals but could sit en banc at their discretion. The Judges would serve a fixed 15 year term, removable only for cause. They would be paid the full salary of a United States District Judge.
Both courts would be considered to be established under Article I.
The decision of the Court of Immigration Review in regards to factual determinations would be final and not reviewable by any other court. Constitutional challenges and statutory interpretations would by reviewable by the United States Court of Appeals for the Circuit in which the case was originally heard and by the United States Supreme Court.
This move would make the immigration courts independent of the Justice Department and increase due process. The system would also greatly speed up immigration court proceedings and in a few years, an immigrant could get his determination within 90 days.
This would eliminate the detention issue. If you are disposing of cases in a timely matter, indefinite detention is no longer even an issue.
Miscellaneous:
I would enact provisions providing for the humane treatment of children and to the best of ability to either grant/deny asylum or conduct ordinary removal in such a way that parents and children are removed or retained as a family unit if at all possible.
I would enact a master immigration database that would automatically interface with State prison and jail databases. The database would automatically warn ICE of any pending release of an alien from a State or local facility. States would be required to make their databases compliant or lose federal police funding. Federal statute would be changed to outlaw sanctuary cities and any city could be punished with loss of funding by statute.
State and local law enforcement would NOT be required to actively assist in the apprehension of aliens. However, if they lawfully arrest a person for any violation, the arresting authority would be required to run the persons information through the aforementioned ICE database and notify ICE if the person has been flagged.
State and local law enforcement could voluntarily assist ICE, but only under very vigorous training and oversight to prevent abuses such as occurred under Sheriff Arpaio.
