Trump’s Controversial New Deportation Plan Shakes Up the U.S. – What It Means for Illegal Migrants

President-elect Donald Trump announced Monday that the military and a declaration of national emergency will be used in his plan to carry out mass deportations of illegal immigrants in the United States. Tom Fitton, the head of the conservative legal organization Judicial Watch, posted on Trump’s social media platform Truth Social on November 8th, saying: “GOOD NEWS: Reports are the incoming @RealDonaldTrump administration prepared to declare a national emergency and will use military assets to reverse the Biden invasion through a mass deportation program.”

A request for comment was not immediately answered by a Trump transition team official. By claiming a national emergency during his first term, Trump circumvented Congress to redirect Pentagon cash to build the border wall. Shortly after taking office, President Biden ended the emergency decree in 2021.

One of Trump’s main campaign pledges was to deport large numbers of individuals; he claimed he would target at least 15 million illegal immigrants, though it’s unclear how many there are overall. Trump stated during the campaign that his plan would make use of wartime authorities, friendly state and local law enforcement, and military forces.

To manage deportations, Trump appointed Tom Homan, who had previously served as the interim head of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as his “border czar.” Homan pledged to recommence workplace immigration raids and give deportation priority to immigrants who threaten national security and public safety.