Washington, Aug 28 (IANS): Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump promised a tracking system for arrivals and departures in this country, so that anyone whose visa expires will "quickly" be expelled.
"I'm going to...develop an exit-entry tracking system to ensure those who overstay their visas are quickly removed. If we don't enforce visa expiration dates, then we have an open border - it's as simple as that," Trump said on Saturday at a rally in Des Moines, Iowa.
The magnate also promised to deport "these international gangs of thugs and drug cartels...from the first day in office," but avoided saying what he would do with those who have no criminal record, EFE news reported.
"In this task, we will always err on the side of protecting the American people - we will use immigration law to prevent crimes, and will not wait until some innocent American has been harmed or killed before taking action," he said.
"We will move justly, but we will move fast, believe me, and we will move tough," he said.
He also repeated his basic promise to build a wall on the Mexican border and said that if he wins the election, he will "stop illegal immigrants from accessing welfare and entitlements".
With these moves, though spoken in a more measured manner than usual and with the aid of a teleprompter, Trump tried to make it clear that his immigration message is a tough as ever in a week when he spoke of a possible softening in this area as a strategy for attracting Hispanic voters.
"In recent days, the media - as it usually does - has missed the whole point on immigration. All the media wants to talk about is the 11 million or more people here illegally," he said.
"But my priority is the well-being of 300 million American citizens, including millions of Hispanic citizens and legal residents who want a secure border, a safe and drug-free community, and a growing economy," Trump said.
The magnate plans to give a speech detailing his immigration policy next week, something he has postponed several times in a moment of confusion over his apparent flip-flops on a subject that has won him the most electoral support up to now.