U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has announced plans to deport all undocumented immigrants residing in the United States over his upcoming four-year term.
Reveals illegal immigration as a “national emergency,” Trump outlined his intentions during an interview on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday.
Reiterating his commitment to enforcing immigration laws, Trump stated, “You have to do it. It’s a very tough thing to do, but you have rules, regulations, laws.” The Department of Homeland Security estimated that over 11 million individuals were living in the U.S. without legal status as of January 2022, a figure likely higher today.
While advocating strict enforcement, Trump signaled a willingness to negotiate protections for “Dreamers,” individuals brought to the U.S. as children without legal status. His earlier attempt to terminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program during his first term was blocked by the Supreme Court, leaving the program intact.
Trump also announced plans to issue an executive order on his first day in office to end birthright citizenship. The policy, rooted in the 14th Amendment and upheld by an 1898 Supreme Court decision, grants U.S. citizenship to anyone born on American soil regardless of their parents’ immigration status. Trump acknowledged the potential need for a constitutional amendment to overturn the policy and anticipated legal challenges ahead.
Implementing these measures would require significant financial and logistical resources. According to the American Immigration Council, deporting all undocumented immigrants could cost an estimated $88 billion annually. Trump’s team, including incoming border czar Tom Homan, has urged Congress to allocate substantial funding to support these efforts.
The proposals mark a dramatic shift in U.S. immigration policy and are expected to ignite widespread debate and legal battles in the coming months.
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