Donald Trump has confirmed he is planning to declare a national emergency and use the US military to carry out mass deportations.
Speaking on his Truth social media page, the President-elect was responding to Tom Fitton, the president of the conservative group, Judicial Watch.
Trump appeared to confirm that he would use military assets to “reverse the Biden invasion.”
It comes as a spokeswoman for the Trump transition team has said that executive orders are being drafted for him to sign on the day he takes office, including one for the mass deportation of migrants.
President-elect Donald Trump gestures as he meets with House Republicans on Capitol Hill in Washington
REUTERS
The President-elect was responding to a post that read: “Reports are the incoming Donald Trump administration prepared to declare a national emergency and will use military assets to reverse the Biden invasion through a mass deportation program.”
He confirmed the reports by responding to it with a post reading: “True”
Karoline Leavitt, a spokeswoman for the Trump transition team and future press secretary, told Fox News: “You know that on day one he’s going to open the largest deportation of illegal immigrants in US history.”
She added that Trump would restore the “remain in Mexico” policy that requires migrants seeking asylum to remain on the southern side of the border until their court date.
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The border wall on the US-Mexico border
Reuters
During the campaign, Donald Trump had repeatedly pledged to carry out the “largest deportation effort in American history.”
He told reporters: “We obviously have to make the border strong and powerful and, and we have to — at the same time, we want people to come into our country…And you know, I’m not somebody that says, ‘No, you can’t come in.’ We want people to come in.
“It’s not a question of a price tag. It’s not, really, we have no choice. When people have killed and murdered, when drug lords have destroyed countries, and now they’re going to go back to those countries because they’re not staying here. There is no price tag.”
Meanwhile, JD Vance, Trump’s running mate and incoming vice-president, has said that the deportations could “start” with one million people.
Trump’s pick for Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt
Getty
Trump has made a flurry of picks for his cabinet and other high-ranking administration positions following his election victory.
This includes Senator Marco Rubio, who ran against Trump to be the Republican candidate in 2016, to be his secretary of state and Robert F Kennedy Jnr, as his health and human services secretary.
He has also picked Tim Homan, the former acting head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), to serve as his “border czar”
In addition, Trump nominated South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem as his secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).