On Thursday, President Donald Trump announced that he working on an executive order designed to end the abuse of the U.S. asylum system. Trump stated, “My administration is finalizing a plan to end the rampant abuse of our asylum system, to halt the dangerous influx, and to establish this control over America’s sovereign borders. Under this plan, the illegal aliens will no longer get a free pass into our country by lodging meritless claims in seeking asylum. Instead, migrants seeking asylum will have to present themselves lawfully at a port of entry.”

Trump noted that he would be releasing the “comprehensive” order next week, adding, “Those who choose to break our laws and enter illegally will no longer be able to use meritless claims to gain automatic admission into our country. We will hold them — for a long time, if necessary. The only longterm solution to the crisis, and the only way to ensure the endurance of our nation as a sovereign country, is for Congress to overcome open-borders obstruction.” He also emphasized, “We will end catch and release. We are not releasing any longer.”

This is indeed a welcome announcement from Trump. For too long the U.S. asylum system has been abused by illegal aliens who are caught sneaking across the border. If one’s asylum request is legitimate, then go to a legal port of entry and apply.

Trump is also making it clear that he is interested in stopping illegal immigration, not legal immigration or the legal process for making genuine and needed asylum requests. This is not, nor has it ever been, a quest to stop legal immigration or asylum. Nor has it been about the ethnic background of those seeking entry into the U.S. It has always been an issue of enforcing our nation’s sovereignty and laws.

The truth is that most illegal aliens who sneak into the U.S. do so because they know they don’t meet the asylum requirements. That fact is borne out by the regular practice of illegal aliens making requests for asylum only after they have been apprehended by the Border Patrol. Secondly, as Trump noted, escaping poverty is not legitimate grounds for asylum. Socialism south of our border is certainly bad, and these countries are often economically wrecked, but that’s not sufficient to grant access to our own lavish benefits.