On Nov. 18, President-elect Donald Trump confirmed on his social media network, Truth Social, that he plans to utilize the US military to carry out his mass deportation plans.
Conservative activist Tom Fitton reported in a Nov. 8 tweet that President-elect Trump and his administration would declare a national emergency and use the U.S. Armed Forces to deport undocumented immigrants. 10 days later, the president replied “TRUE!!!” confirming the report.
Throughout his reelection campaign, the president-elect vowed to begin mass deportations on his first day of office, Jan. 20, 2025.
“On Day 1, I will launch the largest deportation program in American history to get the criminals out,” Trump proclaimed at a New York Rally, just days before the election. “I will rescue every city and town that has been invaded and conquered, and we will put these vicious and bloodthirsty criminals in jail — then kick them the hell of our country as fast as possible.”
Donald Trump nominated several loyalists to help enforce his immigration and deportation policies. These include Kristi Noem, the South Dakota governor and avid supporter of Trump’s immigration agenda, who is slated to lead the Department of Homeland Security, Stephen Miller, president-elect Trump’s former senior advisor, who defended controversial immigration policies during his first term and was recently named White House deputy chief of staff and homeland security adviser, and Tom Homan, the director of ICE during Trump’s first administration, who was named “border czar.”
Very few details have emerged from Trump and his team on how he’ll execute his plans. However, we do know that Trump will declare a national emergency and federalize the national guard, meaning U.S. troops will be deployed to assist ICE in immigration enforcement. Homan, a staunch supporter of the deportation of undocumented immigrants, stated he will revoke federal funding for states, and possibly jail state and city leaders who refuse to comply with the administration’s deportation agenda. Miller, Trump’s architect behind his mass deportation agenda, recommended the idea of building large-scale detention centers and tents for undocumented immigrants. In addition, Trump’s and his team refuses the idea of excluding Dreamers, undocumented young adults who came to the U.S. as children, from his mass deportation agenda — many of these Dreamers are allowed to work and reside in the country under the DACA program, which was created by former President Barack Obama during his first term.
Although Trump is heavily devoted to carrying out his mass deportation, he faces many obstacles ahead, politically, financially and logistically.
For instance, many experts are uncertain if ICE’s 20,000 agents (along with support) would be enough to find and track down millions of undocumented migrants.
Furthermore, the price of deportation is costly. According to an estimate by the American Immigration Council, just deporting one million undocumented immigrants alone cost more than $960 billion dollars over a decade. However, Trump stated that the expenses needed for deportation will not dissuade him from fully carrying out his efforts.
“It’s not a question of a price tag,” Trump told NBC. “ We have no choice… when people have killed and murdered… when drug lords have destroyed countries… now they’re going back to those countries because they’re not staying here… there is no price tag.”
Additionally, mass deportation could have negative implications for the economy. Millions of undocumented immigrants contribute to the nation’s workforce; removing them could potentially lead to a reduction in tax revenue and create widespread labor shortages nationwide.
“If you took away my workforce, you wouldn’t eat. If you go into the San Joaquin Valley and you start doing what you’re saying, it’s over. The country will stop, literally stop because the food system won’t move,” said Manuel Cunhja Jr., the president of the Nisei Farmers League, in an interview with ABC News.
In the political realm, Trump is expected to face legal challenges and opposition from Democratic leaders, with some already stating they would refuse to support Trump to further his deportation agenda. For instance, Mayor Mike Johnston, a Democrat from Denver, made it clear he was willing to face incarceration to resist Trump’s deportation plans. This was met with a response from Homan, who threatened to throw the Mayor in jail if he does not cooperate with ICE officials.
As of recently, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) sued ICE for more information on the upcoming deportation plan. The group intends to file more legal challenges as a means to block the president-elect’s mass deportation agenda.
