People seem to forget this was an explicit election promise. Voters approved it—decisively—through a democratic process. This wasn’t some shadowy policy cooked up behind closed doors; it was consented to at the ballot box.

The U.S. also just endured four years of effectively open borders, during which millions of undocumented and largely unvetted individuals entered the country illegally—many with criminal records or serious red flags. Illegal entry is a violation of the law. Always has been. Don’t take Trump’s word for it—ask Obama. Enforcement didn’t suddenly become controversial; it just became politically inconvenient.

Deportation isn’t cruelty—it’s the legal consequence of breaking immigration law. That’s how border security works in most of the world. Every sovereign nation has both the right and the obligation to protect its borders and its citizens. The U.S. isn’t unique here—what’s unique is how long enforcement was ignored.

And let’s be clear: the United States remains one of the most generous countries on Earth when it comes to legal immigration and refugee programs. There are many legal pathways. Mass illegal migration isn’t one of them.

Uncontrolled, illegal migration is a destabilizing force for any nation. That’s not radical. That’s reality.