12-11-2023 (WASHINGTON) Former US President Donald Trump, if re-elected in 2024, would reportedly intensify his immigration policies by implementing large-scale roundups of individuals who would be held in detention camps while awaiting deportation, according to a report by The New York Times on Saturday.
The article, which cited interviews with multiple advisers, including Stephen Miller, who oversaw Trump’s immigration policies during his first term, described the proposed plans as “an unprecedented assault on immigration” and aimed to deport millions of people annually, including long-time US residents.
As the leading contender for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, Trump is likely to face off against current US President Joe Biden in a rematch of their 2020 contest. However, Trump’s election campaign declined to comment on the report, and the White House also refrained from making a statement.
Notably, Trump made no mention of establishing detention camps during a campaign speech in Claremont, New Hampshire, on Saturday.
In response to the report, the Biden-Harris campaign issued a statement condemning Trump’s immigration plans as “extreme, racist, cruel policies” designed to instill fear and division among the American people, suggesting that Trump seeks to win the election by capitalizing on a frightened nation.
The New York Times article outlined various measures that Trump would reinstate, including his ban on entry from certain Muslim-majority countries. It also stated that he would revive other hardline policies, such as rejecting asylum claims based on allegations of migrants carrying infectious diseases, in addition to COVID-19.
To expedite deportations, Trump plans to expand a form of removal that bypasses due process hearings. The article further reported that Trump would mobilize federal agents, deputize local police, and enlist National Guard troops from Republican-led states to assist US Immigration and Customs Enforcement in conducting sweeping roundups of undocumented individuals.
To address the strain on ICE detention facilities, Trump intends to construct large-scale camps to detain individuals while their cases are being processed and they await deportation.
In the event that Congress refuses to allocate funds for this operation, Trump would redirect Pentagon resources, as he did with the border wall during his first term, to support the initiative, according to The New York Times.
During a speech in September, Trump reportedly likened the deportation operation to the “Eisenhower model,” referring to a controversial 1954 campaign known as Operation Wetback, which aimed to detain and expel Mexican immigrants.
Other aspects of Trump’s immigration plan, as outlined in the article, include screening visa applicants based on ideological views, revoking temporary protected status for individuals from countries deemed unsafe, and attempting to end birthright citizenship for babies born in the United States to undocumented parents.
