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President-elect Donald Trump revealed on Monday his plan to declare a national emergency over border security, setting in motion an unprecedented mass deportation effort that would involve the U.S. military in removing undocumented migrants from the United States.
Immigration was a focal point in the election, and Trump’s promises included the mass deportation of millions of undocumented migrants, alongside measures to regain control of the U.S.-Mexico border, which saw a dramatic increase in illegal crossings during the Biden administration.
Trump amplified a post on his social media platform Truth Social, endorsing a message from a conservative activist that asserted the president-elect’s readiness to declare a national emergency and utilize military assets in order to reverse the perceived “Biden invasion” via a large-scale deportation program.
Alongside the repost, Trump commented, “True!”
Donald Trump made a stunning return to the presidency with his victory on November 5, reclaiming the position after defeating Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in the election.
In his ongoing cabinet announcements, he has selected a team of staunch immigration enforcement advocates, with Tom Homan, the former acting head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, being designated as his “border czar” to oversee the administration’s approach to border control.
Homan appeared at the Republican National Convention in July, telling supporters: “I got a message to the millions of illegal immigrants that Joe Biden’s released in our country: You better start packing now.”
Authorities estimate that some 11 million people are living in the United States illegally. Trump’s deportation plan is expected directly to impact around 20 million families.
While the US government has struggled for years to manage its southern border with Mexico, Trump has super-charged concerns by claiming an “invasion” is underway by migrants he says will rape and murder Americans.
Read also: China To Work With Trump For Smooth Transition – Xi To Biden
During his campaign, Trump repeatedly railed against undocumented immigrants, employing incendiary rhetoric about foreigners who “poison the blood” of the United States and misleading his audiences about immigration statistics and policy.
Trump has not elaborated on his immigration crackdown in any detail but during his election campaign repeatedly vowed to invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to speed up deportations.
Critics say the law is outdated and point to its most recent use during World War II to hold Japanese-Americans in internment camps without due process.
The number of US border patrol encounters with migrants crossing from Mexico illegally is now about the same as in 2020, the last year of Trump’s first term, after peaking at a record 250,000 for the month of December 2023.
