Trump can reduce hostility for immigration enforcement — without weakening it

Border czar Tom Homan has had record-breaking success with his border security measures.  Apprehensions at the Southwest border have declined to levels not seen in more than three decades. This is because, as the Department of Homeland Security claims, the border is more secure now than at any point in history.

The Trump administration has had success with interior enforcement, too, but its enforcement measures there have resulted in a lot of public hostility and a tsunami of lawsuits. But it doesn’t have to be this way. President Trump can implement his enforcement policies just as effectively, but with less hostility and fewer lawsuits, if he just adopts a few smart changes. 

First, his administration should change its litigation strategy. The ACLU brought 434 legal actions against Trump during his first term in office, and 230 legal actions against him during just the first year of his second term. The best way to stop or weaken this campaign to block Trump’s immigration policies is to learn as much as possible about what the activist organization is doing and why.

A January ACLU report titled “Defeat, Delay, Dilute: ACLU Versus President Trump” explains the strategy. The administration also should study the ACLU’s successful lawsuits to learn how to make new enforcement initiatives less vulnerable to avoidable litigation.

A second tip pertains to the use of masks and badges. Homan says that ICE officers in the field need masks to protect them and their families from what has been called doxxing, or the malicious exposure of their personal information. It is a crime to make personal information about ICE officers available to the public, to to threaten or incite violence against officers and their families, who are just doing their........

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