Hours after returning from his trip to Mexico and a visit with that nation's leader, Donald Trump expounded on his immigration plan during a speech in Arizona. First and foremost was a familiar sentiment: "We will build a great wall along the southern border," Trump said to rousing cheers. "And Mexico will pay for the wall. They don't know it yet, but they're going to pay for the wall." (Mexico's president disagrees.) Some other main points of the speech, in which he promised to "break the cycle of illegal immigration and amnesty," via AP, Politico, and the New York Times:
- He said those currently here illegally have just one path to citizenship or legal status: "To return home and apply for reentry like anybody else."
- "We are going to end catch and release," he said, vowing that anyone caught illegally crossing the border will be detained and then returned home.
- "Zero tolerance" for immigrants who commit crimes. He promised that his administration would round up criminal offenders and begin shipping them home on day one. “You can call it deported if you want. The press doesn’t like that term. You can call it whatever the hell you want. They’re gone.”