President Donald Trump’s latest deportation has been a tremendous success, with thousands of arrests made during recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids. This has predictably enraged Democrats, who are accusing the Trump administration of targeting deep-blue cities for political gain. But the truth is that Trump is targeting criminal illegals — and that’s no different than what Barack Obama did.
Let’s walk down memory lane. On Nov. 20, 2014, Obama outlined his plan to address illegal immigration through executive action, citing Congress’s failure to pass comprehensive reform, during which he stressed a renewed focus on deporting criminals, gang members, and individuals posing threats to national security, positioning this as a priority for enforcement.
“Even as we are a nation of immigrants, we are also a nation of laws. Undocumented workers broke our immigration laws, and I believe that they must be held accountable – especially those who may be dangerous,” Obama said. “That’s why, over the past six years, deportations of criminals are up 80 percent. And that’s why we’re going to keep focusing enforcement resources on actual threats to our security. Felons, not families. Criminals, not children. Gang members, not a mother who’s working hard to provide for her kids. We’ll prioritize, just like law enforcement does every day.”
The key difference between Trump and Obama, of course, was that Obama claimed it wasn’t “realistic” to track down illegal immigrants.
Related: Trump's Massive Week One Illegal Immigration Crackdown: The Numbers Are In
“But even as we focus on deporting criminals, the fact is, millions of immigrants – in every state, of every race and nationality – will still live here illegally,” Obama said. “And let’s be honest – tracking down, rounding up, and deporting millions of people isn’t realistic.”
I think Trump has proven him wrong. Nevertheless, Obama believed that targeting criminal illegal immigrants, which Trump is doing now, was striking a proper balance on the issue of immigration enforcement. But he had no problem going after the criminals.
“What I’m describing is accountability,” Obama said. “A commonsense, middle ground approach: If you meet the criteria, you can come out of the shadows and get right with the law. If you’re a criminal, you’ll be deported. If you plan to enter the U.S. illegally, your chances of getting caught and sent back just went up.”
FLASHBACK: "If you're a criminal, you'll be deported." -OBAMApic.twitter.com/DlekDgwkAm
— Chuck Callesto (@ChuckCallesto) January 28, 2025
Obama also pointed out that this wasn’t anything controversial about this because it was actually the status quo.
“The actions I’m taking are not only lawful; they’re the kinds of actions taken by every single Republican President and every single Democratic President for the past half-century,” he said.
Yet the left didn’t freak out when Obama did it. They didn’t call him racist for doing it either. But the Trump administration couldn’t care less what the left says.
“President Trump’s gonna secure the border as promised to the American people and we’re gonna enforce immigration laws. That’s what we’re gonna do — without apology,” border czar Tom Homan said Monday. “We’re on board, we’re gonna go forward [and] you’re gonna see it get a hell of a lot bigger in the near future.”
