Former president Trump could have, in last night’s acceptance speech at the Republican convention, moved on from dystopian rhetoric about immigration to propose an historical reform of immigration laws, matching in importance the Immigration Act of 1924 (Johnson-Reed Act), Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 (Hart-Celler Act), and the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA).

The last time there has been a serious proposal for comprehensive immigration reform was in legislation drafted by the ”Gang of 8” senators from both parties in 2013.  This draft provides a framework which Republican senators today such as Senator Tom Cotton to work with. He proposes a reduction of immigration from about one million to 500,000 and a shift towards a point system such as used by Canada and Australia.

However,  Trump simply brought forward his demonization of immigrants as illegals sprung from jails and mental hospitals from Venezuela and other Latin American countries.

If Trump is elected, I expect that the administration, if Republicans win the House and Senate, to abandon the DACA program and rescind much of the temporary authorizations which Biden made under Temporary Protection Status and Parole.  This will make the controversy over child separation (its timeline is here) look like a picnic.