The president has done it again. In typical shock and awe style, he has done something completely unexpected: he’s put tariffs on illegal immigration.
Is this legal, or has the president gone too far in his tariff frenzy? President Trump has claimed that the new tariffs on illegal immigration are “very, very legal” and that “you won’t be able to find a judge who would say they're illegal.”
However, prominent members of the Democratic Party have claimed that the new tariffs are illegal.
“This is crazy,” Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont said in a CNN interview. “Tariffs cannot be put on immigration, only goods imported into the country. This is not only crazy, but illegal.”
When a reporter asked the president to comment on Senator Sanders’ statement, Trump said that immigration “is another way of saying human resources,” and because “tariffs are put on resources coming into our country,” he can impose tariffs on illegal immigration.
But how would these tariffs work if the immigration that they target is illegal immigration? A reporter with one of those boring (and un-humorous) newspapers asked the president the same question. President Trump explained that when ICE arrests an illegal alien and asks them for their country of origin the arrestee will be given a slip of paper to take to their government.
The slip will inform said government of the illegal immigration tariff and which American government bureaucrat to call to find out how high the tariff is. After the bureaucrat tells the foreign government how much is owed, they will provide payment instructions so that said government can pay the tariff. It is a complicated, albeit creative way to put tariffs on something illegal.
But countries worldwide have fought back against the tariff. Canada, still furious over Trump’s 51st state talk, has out-tariffed Trump and has banned all American products from their country.
Following in the footsteps of America’s northern neighbor, it’s southern neighbor, Mexico, has made a shocking announcement: the Mexican government is building a wall to keep American goods out.
“The actions of President Trump are unacceptable,” Claudia Sheinbaum, the president of Mexico, said. “That is why I have ordered a wall built on the northern border to prevent all American goods from entering our country.”
Other countries, particularly those in South America, have taken similar action against the United States. Venezuela has refused to sell oil to the United States (and risks the chance of being liberated). In contrast, most have refused to comply with President Trump’s tariff on illegal immigration, calling the unconventional tariff “very silly.”
In response, President Trump announced that all American trade with Canada and Mexico would cease, sparking a national debate on whether he could do that. The debate is only a day or two old, yet it has approached the intensity of the debate over the color of that dress on the internet.
The courts are suspected to rule on whether a tariff on illegal immigration is illegal, but until they do, the tariff will stand. It’s a waste of time to file a court case since most countries refuse to pay the illegal immigration tariff, but if there is one thing Americans love more than watching grown men play games, it’s a good lawsuit.
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