Connecticut Attorney General William Tong took the stage Tuesday at the Immigration Community Meeting in Norwich, hosted by Latinos for Educational Advocacy and Diversity. “America would not exist without migrants,” he told allies, doubling down on Governor Ned Lamont’s pledge to “protect, honor and respect our immigrants and immigrant families.” conservatives see this as a slap in the face to Trump’s America First stance.

Tong didn’t shy away from hot-button issues. He insisted “birthright citizenship must be protected,” a policy under fire for enabling “birth tourism”—pregnant foreigners gaming the system for U.S. benefits. His office joined lawsuits against Trump’s first-term efforts to end it, a fight Republicans call a waste of time when illegal crossings have cratered under Trump’s watch.

The AG admitted a hard truth: “People who don’t have legal status are exposed,” given the federal government’s “broad and strong authority over immigration.” Yet he framed it as a call to shield illegals, not enforce laws—a stance conservatives blast as coddling lawbreakers while Trump’s deportations roll on.

Trump’s response is action, not words. Since January 20, illegal crossings have plunged from Biden’s 10,000 daily to 300, thanks to troops at the border, wall construction, and ICE sweeps nabbing criminals. Vice President J.D. Vance, speaking Tuesday from Texas, said Biden “gutted” enforcement, but Trump’s rebuilding it—fast.

Democrats aren’t just talking. New York Rep. Adriano Espaillat, in a Spanish rebuttal to Trump’s congressional address, called migrants “my people” and railed against deportations. Filmmaker Michael Moore even claimed Trump’s expelling potential “cancer curers” or “asteroid stoppers”—hyperbole conservatives dismiss as unhinged when nearly 50 percent of illegals lack a high school diploma.

The stats sting. Studies show 30 percent of illegal migrants have less than a ninth-grade education, and 60 percent of their households rely on welfare. Republicans argue this drains resources from Americans, a problem Trump’s tackling with social media vetting and mass deportation plans laid out in his Tuesday speech.

Tong’s rhetoric isn’t unique—it’s Democrat gospel. Espaillat and Moore echo a party line that conservatives say puts illegals over citizens. Trump’s counter? Tariffs, border walls, and a “Great Liberation of America” through deportations, as he told Congress, promising to outdo Eisenhower’s record.

Republicans see Tong’s words as a losing bet. Posts on X rip Democrats for clinging to open borders while Trump’s policies win—82 percent of speech viewers approved his agenda, per CBS. The heartland’s fed up with excuses, and Trump’s delivering what they voted for.

America’s not buying the migrant myth, conservatives say. Tong can preach, but Trump’s proving strength—slashing crossings, deporting threats, and putting citizens first. This is the fight Republicans live for: law, order, and a country that answers to its own people, not the world.