President Trump’s new immigration plan isn’t perfect. Nothing is, under the sun. Furthermore, since the Democrats have ceased to be a patriotic, mainstream party, the plan is “dead in the water,” legislatively speaking. We are no longer dealing with the likes of Hubert Humphrey, Jimmy Carter, or even George McGovern — all patriots after their fashion.

The Democrats, almost to a man, are ideologues and in a real sense foreign agents. They pursue the interests of another nation entirely. Not this America, which actually exists. Or these Americans, who are in fact their fellow citizens. Both are tainted with a guilt that’s irredeemable. It’s a crime that their forebears ever landed on this continent. Their monuments must be bulldozed, starting with the Confederates and ending with the Founders, and even the explorers. Their peoples must be replaced, as quickly as possible, with “indigenous” immigrants from south of the border. (Never mind that those people’s ancestors never lived this far north either — they look vaguely similar, and that’s good enough for half-educated zealots.)

The French who foolishly chose to negotiate with the Germans in 1940 learned very quickly: You can’t make deals with people who want to liquidate your nation and replace it with something radically different. Whatever petty concessions you wring out of them will be dwarfed by the squalor of your surrenders. Your very names will become epithets of contempt. Like “Quisling,” the name of a Norwegian who thought it pragmatic to work with the conquering Germans. We now use it as a synonym for “traitor.” Back in 2003, I labelled the surrender-happy faction of the GOP the “Vichy-Cons.” They prefer the term “NeverTrump,” however.

So we won’t be making any immigration deal with the Democrats. And President Trump knows it. When when he issues a plan that offers concessions to the left, it’s not because he expects Chuck Schumer to snap it up. It’s because Trump wants to be reasonable, and appeal to the general public. And in its broad outlines, Trump’s new plan is reasonable. It’s also a little vague on crucial points.

I’m not panicked about that. Because this isn’t a final action plan. It’s a first draft of a campaign document. Trump wants a platform on immigration that’s patriotic and sane, orderly and compassionate. He wants it to stand in contrast to the Democrats’ proposed “Give Away the Store and Flood Our Cities with MSM-13 Members (GASFOCMM) Act of 2019.” (I’m not sure if that’s on the House legislative docket yet, but give them time.)

Since the Trump plan is still kind of nebulous, there is time and room for improvement. As co-author with The Stream’s Al Perrotta of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Immigration, I’ve studied this issue in detail. So I’d like to lay out the key principles of immigration reform that ought to guide Trump in his further thought on the issue. Then the practical, legislative steps he ought to campaign on, and after he wins, fight like heck to enact.

Restore the Rule of Law

When everyday practice flouts and makes a mockery of the rule of law, everyone suffers. The most vulnerable suffer the worst, of course. The lawlessness of our border, now controlled by human trafficking gangs, leaves women to be raped and children sold into sex slavery. A country with any self-respect or sense of decency can’t let this continue. We need a Wall.

But it doesn’t stop there. Many other important laws get flouted by illegal immigrants and those who exploit them. The make-or-break one? The law against hiring illegals. I know it sounds bizarre, but did you know that employers in most states are not required to check if workers are legal? That’s right. Maybe go back and read those words again. In California, the state government actually forbids its agencies from using E-Verify, the official US government system for checking if workers are legal.

Making this system mandatory nationwide is not yet part of Trump’s plan. That is madness. It’s more important than the Wall, since it’s the only way to turn off the “jobs” magnet attracting illegals in the first place. That’s why the Democrats won’t budge on it. Enabling them are “cheap labor” Republicans in the Paul Ryan tradition.

Defend the Interests of Ordinary and Vulernable Americans

On reform of legal immigration, it’s crucial we shatter “chain migration,” which determines who enters America based on nepotism, not merit. The happy-sounding euphemism of “family reunification” is really just a pretext for bringing in millions of people who won’t find lasting jobs here. But they will vote for Democrats.

Trump’s plan does propose real improvements. He spoke at length of the need to replace low-skill immigrants with highly qualified people. This is important for two reasons: Yes, we could use more physics PhDs instead of tinkers. But much more crucial is the impact on low-wage Americans. Where do young people from poor families go to find jobs? How about handicapped people? Recovering veterans? Prisoners who’ve served their time and want a second chance? The jobs they’d seek are currently going instead to low-skill immigrants. That’s hurting the most vulnerable Americans, to help a few stockholders in large corporations see upticks in their portfolios. 

We need to insist on reducing the overall numbers of immigrants. The RAISE Act, already introduced in Congress, offers smart proposals on this subject. We must slow the pace of influx, since our machinery for assimilation is broken. Indeed, the left’s new talking point is that it is “racist” even to encourage assimilation. That makes sense, if you think that our country has been evil since its founding. So some consistency points for the Democrats!

Advance Conservative Causes

Let’s be blunt and unashamed about this. If you care about unborn children, your Second Amendment rights, religious liberty or smaller government, you don’t want more red states turning blue. It might be unseemly for the president to just outright say, “I don’t want more future Democrats.” But given that party’s defection from promoting the national interests, we shouldn’t be shy.

Yes, in press conferences and public statements, Trump should speak instead about “low-skill” immigrants. Those are the very people whom our economy doesn’t need, long-term. So they’re perfect recruits for the Democrats, and their politics of envy.

We need to be clear that the most important reason to slow down immigration is to keep every other conservative cause viable. If we import a million or so new Democrats every year, that ends. No more pro-life presidents, or SCOTUS justices, or (eventually) governors of Texas or even Alabama. So if you like that pro-life law Alabama just passed, you’d better get into the immigration fight. It decides all the others.