‘National emergency’: Trump confirms mass deportation plan with one-word social media post

Donald Trump has confirmed his plans to use “military assets” to carry out his mass deportation plan in a post on social media.

President-elect Donald Trump has confirmed he will declare a national emergency on border security and use the military to deport undocumented immigrants from the US.

Mr Trump, who has promised to deport millions of people and stabilise the US border with Mexico, addressed the mass deportation plan with a one-word post on his social media platform Truth Social on Monday night.

He responded to a post by conservative activist Tom Fritton, who wrote about reports Mr Trump’s incoming administration is preparing “to declare a national emergency and will use military assets to reverse the Biden invasion through a mass deportation program”.

“True!” Mr Trump commented.

Donald Trump has confirmed he will declare a national emergency to carry out his mass deportation plan. Picture: Allison Robbert/POOL/AFP

The president-elect has pledged to launch the largest deportation operation of undocumented immigrants in US history on day one of his presidency.

During his campaign, Trump repeatedly railed against undocumented immigrants, employing incendiary rhetoric about foreigners who “poison the blood” of the US and misleading his audiences about immigration statistics and policy.

Mr Trump also promoted the fictitious story that Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, are eating pets.

In the weeks since his November 5 election win, Trump has announced a cabinet featuring immigration hardliners, naming former Immigration and Customs Enforcement acting chief Tom Homan as his “border czar.”

“I am pleased to announce that the Former ICE Director, and stalwart on Border Control, Tom Homan, will be joining the Trump Administration, in charge of our Nation’s Borders (“The Border Czar”),” Mr Trump posted on Truth Social last week.

“I’ve known Tom for a long time, and there is nobody better at policing and controlling our Borders.”

Trump has pledged to launch the largest deportation operation of undocumented immigrants in US history. Picture: AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Mr Trump said Homan would be in charge of “all Deportation of Illegal Aliens back to their Country of Origin”.

Mr Homan was in charge of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) crackdown during Mr Trump’s first term.

Last week, Mr Homan warned Democratic governors to “get out of the way”.

“If they’re not willing to help, then get the hell out of the way because ICE is going to do their job,” he said.

Previously, the ex-policeman and former ICE director told Sixty Minutes whole families could be deported together.

Asked how deportations could take place without separating family members, he responded: “Families can be deported together.”

Speaking at the Republican National Convention during the US summer he put illegal immigrants on notice.

“I got a message to the millions of illegal immigrants that Joe Biden’s released in our country: You better start packing now,” he said.

Former Immigration and Customs Enforcement acting chief Tom Homan has been named as Trump’s “border czar.” Picture: Megan Varner/Getty/AFP

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 supercharged concerns by claiming an “invasion” is underway by migrants he says will rape and murder Americans.

Violent crime, which spiked under Mr Trump, has fallen in every year of President Joe Biden’s administration.

Migrants commit fewer crimes proportionately than the native population, though foreign suspects have been named in a few high-profile cases of violent attacks on women and children, infuriating Republicans.

Tom Homan was in charge of US Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE)’s crackdown during Mr Trump’s first term. Picture: Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg/Getty

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, which allows the federal government to round up and deport foreigners belonging to enemy countries — as part of a mass deportation drive he christened “Operation Aurora”.

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.

– With AFP

Originally published as ‘National emergency’: Trump confirms mass deportation plan with one-word social media post