On the eve of his swearing-in ceremony, United States President-elect Donald Trump told supporters that he would implement anti-immigration measures from day one of his second term in office.
“By the time the sun sets tomorrow evening, the invasion of our borders will have come to a halt.
“All the illegal border trespassers will, in some form or another, be on their way back home,” the Republican said at a rally in Washington.
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As during his election campaign, Trump used broad generalisations and portrayed undocumented migrants living in the U.S. as criminals.
While there has been a rise in crime in some areas of the U.S., experts attribute this to complex socio-political causes.
There is no evidence of a migrants-driven crime wave, nor of migrants committing crimes at higher rates than U.S. nationals.
One of Trump’s key election promises was to carry out mass deportations.
To implement this plan, Trump has nominated several right-wing hardliners to join his government.
According to U.S. media, the first raids are set to begin shortly after his swearing-in on Monday.
These are initially planned in Chicago and may also extend to other cities.
The Trump administration has made the controversial decision to remove Admiral Linda Fagan, the first woman to ever head a US military service, from her position as the leader of the Coast Guard.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), responsible for overseeing the Coast Guard, has yet to provide a response to a request for comment on the dismissal of Fagan, which was made on Tuesday.
Fox News reported that a senior official highlighted several factors behind the decision, including her inability to tackle border security concerns, an overemphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as a growing mistrust following the Coast Guard’s handling of sexual assault investigations.
For years, Trump and fellow Republicans have vehemently opposed government initiatives designed to promote diversity, with border security emerging as a central focus of the president’s agenda. On the first day of his new term, Trump declared a national emergency at the US-Mexico border to underscore this priority.