DeSantis, Trump try to outdo each other on immigration

ANAHEIM, Calif. — As a presidential candidate, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has said he would authorize the use of deadly force against people crossing the border, seek to end the practice of birthright citizenship, and send the military to strike against drug cartels inside Mexico, a key ally of the United States, even without the permission of its government.

Those positions put him on the hard right among the Republicans running for president, many of whom are tapping into deep anger among GOP primary voters over immigration.

Now, DeSantis, who often tries to stoke outrage with his border policies, has unveiled another extreme position: deporting all immigrants who crossed the border illegally during the Biden administration.

“Everyone that has come illegally under Biden” should be sent back, DeSantis said Friday in response to a reporter’s question at a campaign event in Long Beach, Calif. “That’s probably 6 or 7 million people right there. It’s going to require a lot of effort. It’s going to require us to lean in.”

Although DeSantis greatly overestimated the number of people who have entered the country illegally since Biden took office, such mass deportations would require enormous investments in the nation’s immigration enforcement system and could do severe economic harm to key American industries.

DeSantis is not alone in his promises to upend immigration.

On Friday, former president Donald Trump pledged to enact “the largest deportation operation in the history of our country” if reelected. Trump was speaking at the same time as DeSantis, roughly 20 miles away at a convention of Republican activists in Anaheim, Calif.

The dueling speeches highlighted how crucial an issue border security has become in the Republican presidential primary.

Mass deportations are not as simple as the Republican contenders make them sound.

Many of the people they call illegal immigrants already have or are eligible for legal status in the United States. People who are in the country and eligible for legal status are entitled to a hearing before an immigration judge, said Greg Chen, the senior director of government relations for the American Immigration Lawyers Association.