Hinson: Illegal immigrants with criminal records should ‘self-deport’

JOHNSTON — President-elect Donald Trump should take immediate executive action on immigration on his first day in office in January, and some immigrants living in the country illegally who have committed criminal acts should consider self-deporting, Eastern Iowa Republican U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson said Friday.

Hinson also said she believes immigrants who have legal protections because they were brought to the United States as children should not be a part of any federal plans for mass deportation.

Hinson, of Marion, discussed immigration and other topics for this weekend’s episode of “Iowa Press” on Iowa PBS.

Trump has promised to deport millions of migrants living in the country illegally, a plan he has pledged to enact starting on his first day in office. Trump will be inaugurated Jan. 20 to his second White House term.

Hinson said Friday she expects Trump to begin enacting his immigration enforcement plan that day. Hinson said her expectation is that federal immigration officers will focus first on deporting immigrants who live in the country illegally and have been convicted of crimes.

“I think the main priority, as far as I’m looking at what ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) is going to be doing going forward, is getting out illegals that are dangerous to our communities. That, I think, should absolutely be our priority,” Hinson said. “I think it’s really important that we have a serious conversation about, some of these people need to take a look at what’s happening and probably consider self-deporting. If they’re here illegally, they should have that conversation.”

There are roughly 52,300 undocumented immigrants living in Iowa, according to estimates from the American Immigration Council. When asked whether she expects all of those individuals in Iowa to deported in the next four years, Hinson said only that she feels the immediate focus should be on those with criminal records.

“I’m hopeful that that is the priority. And then we can have a conversation about workforce, because I do think that’s a conversation that needs to be had around legal workforce visas,” Hinson said. “That’s a completely separate conversation, as far as I’m concerned, from illegal immigration.”

Hinson also said she would support a legislative “fix” to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival, or DACA, the federal program that shields from deportation immigrants who were brought to the country as children. There are roughly 3,000 Iowans with DACA status, according to the American Immigration Council.

Hinson said she believes there is “broad, bipartisan support” for DACA legislation.

“I think that’s a case where many of these children were brought here through no fault of their own, and I think that’s a completely different conversation than the mass encouragement of asylum seeking that we’ve seen under the Biden administration,” Hinson said.

Hinson also said she believes that there should be a legislative fix for Dreamers — undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children but who do not have protected status from DACA. Hinson said she believes it is unfair that Dreamers can age out of the program and be required to leave the country if they do not find another temporary legal status.

“We have these kids who, for example, came here with their parents when they were 5 years old. They’re Americans at this point. And they’ve gone through our education system with legal status with their parents. And in many cases, they’re getting engineering degrees from the University of Iowa, or they’re really smart people who we want to keep here,” Hinson said. “So I think that that’s absolutely a priority for me in the bigger conversation about legal immigration reform.”

Hinson won re-election in this month’s general election, earning a third, two-year term representing Eastern Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District.

“Iowa Press” can be viewed on Iowa PBS at 7 p.m. Friday and noon on Sunday, and any time online at iowapbs.org.

Comments: (515) 355-1300, erin.murphy@thegazette.com

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