National Security, Immigration & Foreign Policy

What it does: For decades, Washington has offered a false binary: open borders or fortress walls. This administration recognizes that true border security and immigration processing must be treated as a single, interdependent system. This policy pairs necessary physical infrastructure investments—such as sensors, personnel, and technology—with a massive 400% structural increase in immigration court funding.

By building actual administrative capacity, we guarantee that every new asylum application receives a legally binding decision within 90 days. A separate backlog docket, staffed by newly hired judges, works down the roughly 3.5 million cases already pending, with published annual targets. Furthermore, a Legal Entry Surge Capacity at major ports of entry will be established to handle migration surge events safely and efficiently, without resorting to the humanitarian and financial failure of mass detention.

The Mandate: The rule of law must be operationally viable. Under this architecture, the rules are absolute: if you show up legally, you get processed efficiently; if you cross illegally, you face immediate, expedited proceedings. We are ending the “catch-and-release” cycle not with political theater, but by building a system that actually functions.

Cost

Immigration court expansion: roughly $3–4B a year above current funding (a 400% increase on a base of under $1B a year), pending independent score. Surge facilities: $2–3B. Offset by reduced detention costs ($150+/day per detainee).

Timeline

Court funding requested Month 4–6. 90-day processing target in pilot ports within 12 months.

What it does: To align our immigration system with both our modern economic needs and our highest moral traditions, we are replacing the current chaotic patchwork of visas with two distinct, well-defined pathways:

• The Economic Merit Track: A pathway strictly based on skills, education, and labor market demand, with a strategic focus on recruiting global talent in STEM, healthcare, and skilled trades.
• The Humanitarian Track: A compassionate pathway that replaces indefinite limbo with firm published criteria, binding processing timelines, and definitive decisions.
• Strategic Modernization: Annual caps for both tracks will be rigorously reviewed every four years through the Leap-Cycle audit to ensure they accurately reflect the nation’s capacity and economic needs. Furthermore, while we will fiercely preserve family reunification for immediate family members, legacy extended-family preferences will be responsibly phased out over a 10-year horizon and converted into high-value merit slots.

Risk Mitigation & Empathy: Transitioning extended-family quotas into merit slots is a significant shift. By utilizing a 10-year horizon, we ensure that families currently navigating the system are not abruptly cut off, while firmly modernizing our intake to prioritize economic contribution and nuclear family cohesion for the next generation.

Cost

Administrative restructuring: $1–3B over 4 years, offset by increased economic output from merit-based admissions and reduced processing backlogs.

Timeline

Dual-track framework legislation introduced Year 1. Merit Track operational Year 2. Extended-family phase-out begins Year 3 on a 10-year horizon.

No new foreign military commitment without a formal Congressional Declaration of War or Authorization. Every active AUMF reauthorized every three years. VA restructured around Community Care First: veterans see any licensed provider in their community, billed to the VA at Medicare rates. VA mental health staffing doubled within 18 months. Veterans Housing Guarantee: no veteran who honorably served more than one year remains unsheltered — permanent supportive housing through federal-municipal partnerships with a 5-year elimination target.

Automatic VA Enrollment: Every service member is enrolled in VA health care at discharge unless they opt out, with check-ins throughout the first year after leaving the military, when risk is highest. In 2024, 6,488 veterans died by suicide, and 62% of them were not receiving VA care.

Skills to Careers: Military training counts automatically toward civilian licenses and credentials, and the SkillBridge program, which places service members in civilian jobs during their final months, expands and connects to the National Apprenticeship Corps (2.7).

Military Families: Spouses’ professional licenses carry over between states, and on-base childcare connects to the Family Foundations Act (2.10).

Cost

VA Community Care expansion: preliminary estimate $3–5B annually above current spending, pending independent score. The VA already spends tens of billions a year on community care, and that spending is growing fast. Mental health staffing surge: $1–2B over 18 months. Veterans Housing Guarantee: $2–4B over 5 years through federal-municipal partnerships.

Timeline

Community Care First directive issued Month 1. VA mental health staffing doubled by Month 18. Veterans Housing Guarantee: zero veteran homelessness targeted within 5 years.

The defense budget is restructured — not reduced — to shift resources toward four domestic-facing priorities: cybersecurity and critical infrastructure defense, supply chain security for strategic materials, emergency response and disaster resilience, and nuclear deterrence modernization. Overseas bases reviewed every four years. NATO alliances maintained, but all partners must meet committed spending targets. Diplomacy first. Military force requires explicit Congressional authorization.

Cost

Budget-neutral. Restructures existing defense spending rather than increasing or cutting the total. Overseas base review yields estimated $10–20B in reallocation toward domestic priorities over 4 years.

Timeline

Defense restructuring directive issued Year 1. Overseas base review completed Year 2. Cybersecurity and infrastructure investments fully deployed by Year 4.