Me in 2006:

Last night I was talking to Bob Park, who as a young Border Patrolman took part in Operation Wetback. He pointed out that Eisenhower didn't have to pass any laws.

Being an illegal alien was already illegal. All it took was for the President of the United States to decide that something should be done, and then do it.

Me in 2015:

In  November, when Obama did his “Executive Action” on immigration, Daniel Horowitz pointed out that Eisenhower’s equivalent executive action “was to deport 80,000 illegal immigrants.” Many more self-deported, because they could see that the Government was taking this seriously.

Well,  Donald Trump, if he was in charge, could do the same thing. He certainly doesn’t lack political will.

Trump in 2017, via Byron York of the Washington Examiner:

Enforcing existing law heart of Trump immigration strategy. 'We do not need new laws,' he said Wednesday. https://t.co/rgelg6ofmY

— Byron York (@ByronYork) January 27, 2017

 

Here's York's Twitter summary, in five tweets:

• Trump wall proposal dominated coverage of immigration executive orders. But there's much, much more…
• Trump changes: 1) End 'catch and release.' Advocates of stricter enforcement see that as hugely important.
• 2) Pressure sanctuary cities. 3) Speed deportations. 4) Follow law with 'removable' illegal immigrants.
• 5) Stop automatically allowing asylum seekers to stay in US while cases are considered. 6) Inform the public.
• Trump exec orders stop short of measures that require Congress. But still huge step away from Obama non-enforcement.

"Inform the public" means that when an illegal is charged with a rape or murder, the Federal Government will inform the public—which something the media has been trying to prevent for years.

Byron York writes:

6) Inform the public. In the Obama years it was sometimes hard to find good statistics about illegal immigrants who were accused of crimes. Trump seeks to change that. From the interior enforcement order: "To promote the transparency and situational awareness of criminal aliens in the United States, the Secretary [of DHS] and the Attorney General are hereby directed to collect relevant data and provide quarterly reports on the following: (a) the immigration status of all aliens incarcerated under the supervision of the Federal Bureau of Prisons; (b) the immigration status of all aliens incarcerated as federal pretrial detainees under the supervision of the United States Marshals Service; and (c) the immigration status of all convicted aliens incarcerated in state prisons and local detention centers throughout the United States."