President Trump’s team has finished the year by doubling down on a promise most politicians only talk about: enforce the law and secure our borders. Federal agencies have ramped up arrests, interior enforcement operations, and removals in a bid to deter the chaos the previous administration tolerated, and the results are unmistakable on the ground. Conservatives should cheer a government that finally puts American citizens’ safety first and stops treating open borders as inevitability.
The operation isn’t just talk — it’s logistical muscle, with a surge in deportation flights and expanded use of federal assets to get repeat violators out of our communities. Officials report a dramatic uptick in charter and even military-assisted flights to return illegal entrants to their home countries, a practical and efficient use of resources many on the left sneer at but willfully ignore when crime goes down. This is how you restore order: enforce existing laws, move the bad actors out, and send a clear message that America will not be a magnet for lawlessness.
Predictably, activist judges and left-leaning lawyers have rushed in to slow the process with injunctions and courtroom grandstanding, trying to put politics over public safety. Courts recently blocked parts of the administration’s plan to expand expedited removals, proving once again that the fight for the border will be won in both the field and the courtroom. Conservatives must push back in the public square and the ballot box so judges don’t become policy-makers who hamstring lawful enforcement.
Meanwhile, compassionate-sounding appeals from bishops and liberal politicians to pause enforcement during the holidays ring hollow when placed next to the families of victims who bear the real cost of broken borders. Religious leaders asking for temporary pauses are worthy of respect, but the government’s first duty is the protection of its citizens, and endless pauses amount to encouragement for more illegal crossings. There is a humane way to enforce the law — and that begins with removing those who flout our rules rather than rewarding lawlessness.
The enforcement surge has come with a steep operational footprint: detention numbers and removals have climbed to levels not seen in years, reflecting the administration’s single-minded commitment to deliver on its promise. Americans fed up with rising crime and schools and hospitals strained by illegal migration can see the difference when the federal government chooses enforcement over appeasement. If opponents want to make this a culture-war debate, conservatives should gladly make it about law, order, and the dignity of citizens over open-borders indulgence.
This end-of-year push is not the end of the fight; it’s the turning point conservatives have long demanded — a sober, effective campaign to reclaim our communities and enforce sovereignty. The next step is to back smart policy reforms that lock in these gains, resist judicial overreach, and elect leaders who will not apologize for defending the rule of law. Hardworking Americans sent a clear message at the ballot box: security matters, and any leader who forgets that will be voted out.
