Trump Invokes Eisenhower on Illegal Immigration

Donald Trump doubled down on his signature immigration control plan–deporting illegals–during Tuesday night’s GOP presidential debate, even invoking the nation of Israel and Dwight Eisenhower.

“We are a country of laws,” the real estate mogul declared. “We need borders. We will have a wall. The wall will be built. The wall will be successful. And if you think walls don’t work, all you have to do is ask Israel. The wall works, believe me, properly done. Believe me.”

When pressed by Maria Bartiromo on whether he would really deport the millions of illegal aliens currently in the country, Trump affirmed that he would, saying “we either have a country or we don’t.”

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“Let me just tell you that Dwight Eisenhower . . . moved a million and a half illegal immigrants out of this country, moved them just beyond the border; they came back,” Trump explained. “Moved them again beyond the border, they came back. Didn’t like it; moved them way south. They never came back.

“Dwight Eisenhower. You don’t get nicer, you don’t get friendlier; they moved a million and a half people out. We have no choice. We have no choice.”

Jeb Bush argued Hillary Clinton and the Democrats were “laughing” because Trump refused to back down on his plan to deport illegal immigrants. However, Cruz pivoted away from a question about benefits for retirees to take a hard line on immigration.

“What was said was right,” Cruz said. “The Democrats are laughing. If the Republicans join the Democrats as the party of amnesty we will lose.

“I understand that when the mainstream media covers immigration it doesn’t often see it as an economic issue. But I can tell you that for millions of Americans at home watching this, it is a very personal economic issue.”

Cruz also took a shot at the donor class which often favors mass immigration as well as the generally pro-immigration mainstream media.

“And I will say the politics of it would be very different if a number of lawyers or bankers were crossing the Rio Grande,” said Cruz. “Or if a bunch of people with journalism degrees were coming over and driving down the wages in the press. Then we would see stories about the economic calamity that has befallen our nation.”

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