‘National emergency’: Trump declares ambitious illegal immigration crackdown in inaugural address
President Trump on Monday made a number of ambitious announcements on border security and immigration, eyeing a sweeping overhaul of U.S. policy and likely fueling pushback from Democrats and immigration activists in the weeks and months ahead.
Trump used his inaugural address to outline his plans to fulfill his campaign promises to seal the southern border and launch a historic mass deportation campaign.
“First, I will declare a national emergency at our southern border. All illegal entry will immediately be halted,” Trump said moments after being inaugurated. “And we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came.”
TRUMP VOWS ‘NEW ERA OF NATIONAL SUCCESS,’ SAYS AMERICA’S ‘DECLINE IS OVER’ IN INAUGURAL ADDRESS
Fox News had previewed Trump’s immigration moves, which include deploying the military to the border, ending Biden-era parole policies, restoring border wall construction and designating international cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.
Trump also will be ending birthright citizenship for illegal immigrants, suspending refugee resettlement and creating a rapid removal process that does not allow for an asylum claim, officials told reporters.
Officials told reporters in a press call that Trump would sign an order clarifying language in the 14th Amendment and stating that the federal government “will not recognize automatic birthright citizenship for children of illegal aliens born in the United States.”
Trump reiterated many of these promises in his address.
TRUMP TO DEPLOY MILITARY TO BORDER, END BIDEN PAROLE POLICIES IN FLURRY OF DAY 1 EXECUTIVE ORDERS
“We will reinstate my Remain in Mexico policy. I will end the practice of catch-and-release. And I will send troops to the southern border to repel the disastrous invasion of our country. Under the orders I signed today, we will also be designating the cartels as foreign terrorist organizations,” he said.
“And by invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, I will direct our government to use the full and immense power of federal and state law enforcement to eliminate the presence of all foreign gangs and criminal networks bringing devastating crime to U.S. soil, including our cities and inner cities.”
TRUMP TO TAKE MORE THAN 200 EXECUTIVE ACTIONS ON DAY 1
“As commander in chief, I have no higher responsibility than to defend our country from threats and invasions,” he said. “And that is exactly what I am going to do. We will do it at a level that nobody has ever seen before.”
Trump made tackling illegal immigration, including a mass deportation operation, a central theme of his 2024 campaign.
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Polls showed Americans saw illegal immigration as a top issue during the 2024 election, and some Democrats in Congress recently have supported legislation to require the detention of certain illegal immigrants by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Fox News’ Brooke Singman and Bill Melugin contributed to this report.