Since taking office, Donald Trump has revoked the legal status of roughly 1 million longtime U.S. residents, used the mass psychological torture of children as a means of deterring asylum seekers, overseen the deportation of U.S. Army veterans, and encouraged the American military to use lethal force against unruly migrants at our southern border.

Through it all, the president has insisted that his “tough” immigration agenda is not motivated by hatred of “illegals” — but only love for the American worker.

The first sentence on the Trump campaign’s “Immigration” web page in 2016 was a promise to “prioritize the jobs, wages and security of the American people.” The second, a vow to “establish new immigration controls to boost wages and to ensure that open jobs are offered to American workers first.” To accomplish these goals, the mogul pledged to crack down on employers who exploit illicit labor, so as to “turn off the jobs and benefits magnet” that draws undocumented workers across the border.