Congress

Breaking down Donald Trump’s deportation agenda

Published

1 year ago

November 12, 2024

A version of this initially appeared in The Recast, Blue Light News’s race and politics newsletter.

Carlos Trujillo may not be a household name, but he was instrumental in helping President-elect Donald Trump hone his message and win a historic number of Latino voters last week.

Trujillo, who’s been a senior adviser to Trump since his 2016 presidential run and served in his first administration, believes the Republican’s decisive victory ushered in a mandate to implement far-reaching immigration reforms, including mass deportations.

The son of immigrants who defected from Fidel Castro’s communist Cuba, Trujillo applauds Trump’s recent decision to name immigration hard-liners Stephen Miller and Tom Homan as deputy chief of staff for policy and border czar, respectively. And he believes they’ll bring back two of Trump’s previous migration-deterrent policies: the so-called “safe third country” agreements and the “Remain in Mexico” program.

“Those hires are excellent ones and are going to help carry out the vision more than 74 million Americans — including Hispanics — voted for,” Trujillo told Blue Light News.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

The president-elect has selected Stephen Miller and Tom Homan to help implement his mass deportation plans. Can you explain how that’s going to be carried out, especially since the president-elect is suggesting there may be no price tag for the scale of it?

So obviously, the price tag, I think it’s less expensive to deport people who are in this country illegally — committing crimes — than it is to keep them.

I worked with Stephen in the first Trump administration. Tom Homan has a spectacular reputation. And both are people who were very, very effective in curbing illegal migration.

Stephen was essential in negotiating the “safe third country” agreements, the “Remain in Mexico” policy — these were all issues that President Trump openly campaigned on, unlike his Democratic opponent who campaigned for sanctuary cities before flipping to saying she’s going to be really tough on the border.

Are you also angling for a position in the upcoming administration?

No, I’m helping Trump and the team through the transition process. But I’m not committed to any position or even entering the administration. I’m happy in the private sector.

Democrats hammered the first Trump administration on the imagery of the government breaking up families and putting kids in cages, or rounding up people who haven’t committed violent crimes.

Are you concerned Trump’s mass deportations plan is going to renew criticisms of family separation all over again?

So just to clarify, the kids in cages started under the Obama administration. President Trump has been very clear in that the first step is to remove criminals.

Let’s start with the 13,000 murderers; I think that’s a pretty good number of people we want to get out. There are over 600,000 people who have [had contact with] law enforcement or have criminal records in this country. I think, obviously, the mass deportations should focus on those who are the most dangerous and most violent and pose the most risk to our country.

Will this 600,000 be enough? My assumption is some will be looking for figures much higher than that. How do you balance a mass deportation plan with those who are stressing a humane approach to this?

I’m not sure of the narrative that you’re painting, that all these people are concerned. Were they concerned for the last four years when millions of people entered this country and showed up in cities that are completely overrun?

There are entire hotels dedicated to migrant staffing across this country. There are veterans who are being displaced from their houses. I’m not sure the narrative of “we’re going to separate children” is really an accurate narrative.

Is Trump’s agenda going to include finishing the border wall too?

Finishing the wall is very important, but I also think it’s important to focus on all the great policies that the Trump administration advanced in the first term, including the “safe third country agreements,” “Remain in Mexico” and Title 42 expulsions. Those are all important things I’m sure will be implemented in some shape or form [again] to deal with the migratory crisis.

Congress

Thune, Tim Scott endorse Hern for open Oklahoma Senate seat

Published

11 minutes ago

March 19, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Senate Majority Leader John Thune and National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair Tim Scott (R-S.C.) endorsed Rep. Kevin Hern’s bid for the open Senate seat in Oklahoma to replace Sen. Markwayne Mullin on Thursday, as Republicans look to avoid a messy primary in the red-leaning state.

Thune called Hern a “proven conservative leader” and supporter of their shared Republican agenda. “He will be a great asset in the Senate and has my full support and endorsement,” Thune said in a statement.

The seat is open after President Donald Trump tapped Mullin to replace Kristi Noem as Department of Homeland Security secretary.

Trump had previously endorsed Hern for the Senate seat in a post on Truth Social.

“A true friend of MAGA, Kevin is now running for the United States Senate, where I know he will continue to do an incredible job,” Trump wrote. “Kevin is strongly supported by the fiercest MAGA Warriors in Oklahoma, and the most Highly Respected Leaders in the United States Senate!”

Hern is running in November for a full term, but Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt will need to appoint a successor in the coming weeks to serve until then. By state law, the person who is appointed to fill the seat temporarily cannot run for the full term.

Other major Republican figures in the state — including Stitt and Rep. Stephanie Bice — have said they would not run for the Senate seat.

Congress

Mullin’s nomination to be DHS chief advances out of committee

Published

41 minutes ago

March 19, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

The Senate Homeland Security Committee voted Thursday to advance Sen. Markwayne Mullin’s nomination to be the next Homeland Security secretary, after the Oklahoma lawmaker clashed with committee Chair Rand Paul in a surprisingly tense Wednesday confirmation hearing.

The vote fell mostly along party lines, with a notable vote swap. Paul, a Kentucky Republican, voted against advancing Mullin’s nomination. Paul took Mullin to task Wednesday over past disparaging comments Mullin made against him and the nature of “special missions” he claimed to have taken as a member of the House.

All but one Democrat — John Fetterman of Pennsylvania — voted against advancing Mullin’s nomination.

Congress

Sexual assault allegations roil bills honoring César Chávez

Published

56 minutes ago

March 19, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Lawmakers are rethinking legislation that seeks to further honor the late activist César Chávez after sexual misconduct allegations have now surfaced decades after his death.

President Barack Obama in 2012 created the César E. Chávez National Monument in Keene, California, and lawmakers have been wanting to turn the site into a national historic park. Those plans will now change.

Two California Democrats, Rep. Raul Ruiz and Alex Padilla, signaled yesterday they would no longer seek to advance legislation they previously championed, which would sought to “preserve the nationally significant sites associated with César E. Chávez and the farm worker movement across California and Arizona.”

Their companion bills also would have called for a study to create the “Farmworker Peregrinación National Historic Trail,” marking a 300-mile march that occurred in 1966.

“As the lead sponsor in House of the César E. Chávez and the Farmworker Movement National Historical Park Act, Congressman Ruiz will take steps to rename and revise the legislation in honor of farmworkers both to respect the victims and to serve as an initial step toward accountability,” a Ruiz aide said Wednesday.

Padilla’s office said that the senator supports the removal of Chávez’s name from any landmarks, institutions or honors, and plans to rework the Senate version of the legislation.

“There must be zero tolerance for abuse, exploitation, and the silencing of victims, no matter who is involved,” Padilla said in a statement. “Confronting painful truths and ensuring accountability is essential to honoring the very values the greater farm worker movement stands for — values rooted in dignity and justice for all.”

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus also issued a statement on social media calling Chávez “flawed beyond absolution,” while vowing to work to rename “streets, post offices, vessels and holidays” that honor Chávez.

A New York Times story this week detailed allegations that Chávez sexually assaulted women and girls, including Dolores Huerta, who co-founded the United Farm Workers union with him. The existing 187-acre monument site includes the union headquarters.

Dennis Arguelles, the Southern California director of the National Parks Conservation Association, called the allegations against Chávez “deeply disturbing” but noted that the national monument is not about a “single person.”

“For many years, NPCA supported a national park site — the current national monument as well as a proposal that would include sites in several western states — that would honor the farmworker movement and those who fought for dignity, better working conditions, and fair wages,” Arguelles said in a statement. “This movement, which the National Park Service found to be nationally significant history, is not about a single person.”

He said the site, “the first to recognize contemporary Latinos, plays a critical role in ensuring that our country’s diversity and complex stories are shared.”