U.S. President Donald Trump, immediately after his inauguration, began implementing one of his main campaign promises.
Four days later, his press secretary, Caroline Levitt, announced that “hundreds of migrants” had been detained and deported to their home countries with the help of military planes.
The Trump administration has already deported 538 illegal migrants. This is the largest deportation in history, Levitt stated.
Trump declared a state of emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border and announced plans to deport “millions of illegal migrants.” He also mentioned plans to send additional troops to reinforce the security of the southern border.
These measures are part of Trump’s strategy to reduce the number of illegal migrants, which in the U.S. is estimated at around 11 million.
At the same time, the Republican-controlled Congress passed a law expanding the powers to detain foreign nationals without documents. This decision will allow for more active detentions of migrants suspected of committing offenses.
The mayor of Newark, New Jersey, Ras J. Baraka, reported that the Border Patrol had been conducting raids in local buildings, detaining not only undocumented migrants but also U.S. citizens. He noted that arrests were being made without warrants.
