Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem assured that the strategy behind the Trump administration’s tariffs includes protecting the country’s residents from illegal fentanyl, specifically regarding how it is targeting the United States’s “next generation.”
The Trump administration threatened to implement tariffs against both Canada and Mexico on April 2, and has already implemented tariffs against China. Noem explained that while the U.S. wants both better trade deals and a stronger economy, the focus of these tariffs “really” is on stopping fentanyl from China from getting into the U.S.
“I think a lot of people don’t understand the strategy of these enemies of the United States and what they’re utilizing. They are bringing this in, not just to make money, they’re bringing it in here to kill Americans,” Noem stated on CBS’s Face the Nation. “And it’s time that we stand up for the people that live here and make sure that we’re stopping this war against our children.”
Noem also reiterated that illegal immigrants can self-register and alert authorities that they are within the country, allowing them to self-deport. By doing this, the immigrants can remain together as a family and eventually return to the U.S. legally, should they choose to do so.
The secretary also pointed to how U.S. citizens are separated from their families if they break the law, and did not see why illegal immigrants ought to be treated differently than legal citizens.
TRUMP OFFICIALS ACKNOWLEDGE TEMPORARY PAIN AMID TARIFFS AND MARKET UNEASE
Amid the U.S.’s feud with other nations on tariffs, China has issued its own tariffs on Canada, which will go into effect on March 20. The Chinese tariff commission cited Canada’s 100% tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and 25% tariff on Chinese steel and aluminum for the purpose of these upcoming tariffs.
Meanwhile, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has pushed back on the possibility that the U.S.’s upcoming tariffs on Canada and Mexico will cause a recession, claiming there is “no chance” of this happening.
