An incoming White House official stated Monday morning that President Donald Trump intends to execute ten executive orders pertaining to immigration on his first day in office, including a declaration of a national emergency at the border.
The executive orders will carry out Trump’s pledges made throughout the campaign to begin mass deportations as soon as he takes office.
Trump promised to declare a national emergency at the southern border in his inaugural speech.
“Illegal entry will immediately be halted, and we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came,” he stated.
The Defense Department would be able to send the National Guard and soldiers to the border thanks to the state of emergency. Officials said the Defense Department will make the final decisions on the number of troops to be sent and the scope of their operations.
Additionally, the Trump administration declared that it will terminate birthright citizenship, which grants U.S.-born children the opportunity to apply for citizenship regardless of the immigration status of their parents.
The U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment, which declares that “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States,” has been interpreted to require birthright citizenship.
It would be very difficult to amend the Constitution without the ratification of three-quarters of the states and the consent of two-thirds of Congress. Any attempt by Trump to eliminate birthright citizenship will be challenged in court by Democrats and certain legal organizations.
Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., wrote on X that ending birthright citizenship is unconstitutional and anti-America, promising to oppose this un-American executive action.
According to the official, Trump plans to stop the practice known as “catch and release.”Despite Trump’s pledge during his first term to stop the practice, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention space constraints resulted in the release of migrants after they crossed the border.
The “Remain in Mexico” policy, which permitted Trump to prevent migrants of all nationalities from entering the United States from Mexico during his first term until they had an appointment for asylum, is another measure that the Trump administration intends to implement. The official did not specify if that nation had accepted any of its demands.
The proposal is “a unilateral decision that they have taken,” Mexican Secretary of Foreign Affairs Juan Ramón de la Fuente told reporters during the Mexican president’s morning briefing. “We do not share it,” he said. Our focus is different.
In reaction to earlier news rumors that Trump would seek to restore the program, he said before to the Trump official announcing the ten executive orders on immigration that were planned. A potential obstacle to the idea was the uncertainty surrounding whether the Mexican government would stop the Trump administration from implementing the strategy.
The official added that they would halt refugee resettlement for a minimum of four months and proceed with the construction of the border wall.
Additionally, the administration plans to fight narcotics cartels and what it refers to as “migrant gangs,” notably Tren de Aragua and MS-13.
In his inaugural address, Trump stated, “We will also be designating the cartels as foreign terrorist organizations under the orders I signed today.”
Anyone who assists or works with the cartels would be prohibited under the classification, and anyone who supports the cartels in any way might be charged by the federal government with giving material support to terrorists. Additionally, it would enable the administration to place known members on the terrorist watchlist, which would enable them to be detained, prevented from entering the country by plane, or prevented from entering the country by land just for belonging to the group.
“I will direct our government to use the full and immense power of federal and state law enforcement to eliminate the presence of all foreign gangs and criminal and criminal networks bringing devastating crime to U.S. soil, including our cities and inner cities,” Trump stated.
The immigration system has already started to change. According to a statement posted on the Customs and Border Protection website, migrants can no longer utilize the official app CBP One to submit their information and make appointments at ports of entry along the southwest border.
The notification also stated that existing appointments made via the app had been canceled.
Under the Biden administration, CBP One’s operations were extended to help with migrant asylum appointments as the number of persons attempting to enter the southern border increased. Migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela who had sponsors in the United States were using it to start the two-year parole application process.
On Monday, pop-up alerts in various languages informed app users their CBP One appointments were no longer valid.