WASHINGTON- President Trump moved on Monday to fundamentally and drastically change the way the nation handles immigration, saying he would sign executive orders to increase deportations, declare a national emergency at the southern border and deploy military troops there.
Trump said he would immediately stop all illegal entry to the border and added that he would invoke an 18th-century law to carry out his plan to rid the country of people here illegally.
“We have a government that has provided unlimited funds for the defense of foreign borders but refuses to defend American borders or, more importantly, its own people,” Trump said in his inauguration speech in the Capitol rotunda. .
In the months leading up to his election and inauguration, Trump promised to reform the immigration system and border security on “Day 1” through executive orders, bypassing the general legislative process. At his inauguration ceremony at noon, Trump said he would sign the executive orders later on Monday.
The executive branch has broad authority in immigration matters, but many of the president’s orders are sure to face swift legal challenge.
Trump has promised the largest deportation effort in U.S. history, to be carried out under the direction of Stephen Miller and Tom Homan, architects of his first administration’s zero-tolerance policy that led to thousands of immigrant parents being deported. separated from their children. Trump’s efforts will be hampered without substantial additional funding from Congress, where Republicans hold slim majorities.
Illegal border crossings have decreased dramatically over the past year, and current levels are the lowest since Trump left office. The emergency declaration allows Trump to unlock federal resources to finance the construction of the border wall, as he did in 2019.
In June, the Biden administration began effectively blocking most migrants from seeking asylum along the US-Mexico border. The restrictions did not apply to those waiting for an appointment to enter legally at official ports of entry.
On Monday, hundreds of asylum seekers learned that their use of CBP One, a phone app through which they made appointments, had ended and their scheduled interviews had been cancelled. Tens of thousands of migrants, some of whom had waited more than six months for an interview, are now stranded in Mexico. In recent months, more immigrants had entered legally with CBP One appointments than those who were arrested after entering the United States illegally.
“As commander in chief, I have no greater responsibility than to defend our country from threats and invasions, and that is exactly what I will do,” Trump said. “We will do it at a level that no one has seen before.”
Another order would designate drug cartels and gangs as foreign terrorist organizations.
Other orders will bring back policies from Trump’s first term that Biden had discontinued, such as Remain in Mexico. Under that policy, asylum seekers must remain on the other side of the border while their asylum cases are adjudicated.
Trump said he would end what conservatives call “catch and release,” the practice of releasing immigrants from custody while they await conclusions in what are often years-long cases in immigration courts.
There is not enough room for federal authorities to detain everyone in deportation proceedings. Last fiscal year, Congress financed 41,500 beds at a cost of 3.4 billion dollars. As of December 29, more than 39,000 immigrants were detained awaiting deportation proceedings.
Trump said he would use the US military for border security efforts.
“By invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, I will order our government to use the full power of federal and state law enforcement to eliminate the presence of all foreign gangs and criminal networks that bring devastating crimes to American soil.” Trump said.
The Alien Enemies Act of 1798, last used during World War II to send people from Japan, Germany and Italy to internment camps, allows the president to arrest, imprison or deport immigrants from a country considered an enemy of the United States. during times of war. Trump could use it to carry out quick deportations without the legal processes typically required. But legal experts say courts would likely strike down Trump’s interpretation as going beyond what the law allows.
Brad Jones, a political science professor at UC Davis, noted that many executive orders during Trump’s first term withstood court challenges, including those on the border wall and Remain in Mexico. With a conservative majority on the Supreme Court, challenges to it exceeding permitted powers may ultimately be dismissed, Jones said.
“In my opinion, these executive orders are essentially setting the stage to think of the border as a war zone,” he said.
During a second speech at Emancipation Hall, Trump praised Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas, who supported a border offensive and bused immigrants to liberal states like New York and California. Trump repeated baseless claims that nearly every country in the world was sending criminals to the United States, saying Abbott had to deal with them himself. But, boasting about the promised expansion of the border wall, Trump signaled that Abbott’s situation would soon change.
“That wall will go up very quickly,” he said.
The Trump administration has been planning a major immigration raid in Chicago this week, but Homan told the media that officials are reconsidering their plans because the leaked details put agents at risk. Other large immigrant communities, including Los Angeles, could be targets of future raids.
In California, a 2018 law enacted in response to the first Trump administration limits state and local police cooperation with federal immigration authorities. He California Securities Law It prevents local police from detaining someone longer for transfer to immigration custody, but allows them to notify federal agents about a person’s release if they have certain felonies or high-level misdemeanor convictions.
Some local law enforcement leaders, including Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, have expressed their willingness to circumvent the law to help immigration agents carry out deportations. Attempts to circumvent the law will not be tolerated, California Atty. said regular Rob Bonta. “We are prepared to take action against any law enforcement agency that does not follow the law,” Bonta said Friday.
Bonta said he is also willing to fight Trump in court. The California Department of Justice sued the first Trump administration more than 100 times.
“If you try to call on the National Guard or the military to participate in your mass deportations, if you seek to end birthright citizenship – a constitutional right – and that harms American citizens, if you try to attack sanctuary jurisdiction and status On the immigration side, we are ready to act from day one,” Bonta said.
Some California immigrants are already on edge after Border Patrol agents made dozens of arrests in Bakersfield this month, questioning people at Residence Depot, gas stations and on their way to work on farms.
Angélica Salas, executive director of the Los Angeles Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, said the organization hosted a vigil Tuesday night to create a safe space for immigrants to gather and learn more about the initial executive orders. of Trump. He emphasized that because Los Angeles is considered a pure disaster area, immigration agents should not conduct law enforcement operations there.
“The Los Angeles community is worried about what is coming, but we are not cowed in panic,” Salas said.
Castillo reported from Washington and Uranga from Los Angeles. Instances staff writer Patrick J. McDonnell in Mexico City contributed to this report.
