Washington-According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), President-elect Donald Trump intends to declare a national emergency and deploy the US military to carry out mass deportations of undocumented immigrants. The ACLU has expressed strong opposition to this plan, stating that it will “change the very nature of American life for tens of millions of Americans”. This move has sparked widespread concern and criticism, with many questioning the legality and morality of using military force for deportations.
Immigration was a top issue in the election campaign, and Trump has promised to deport millions and stabilise the border with Mexico after record numbers of migrants crossed illegally during President Joe Biden’s administration.
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On his social media platform Truth Social, Trump amplified a recent post by a conservative activist that said the president-elect was “prepared to declare a national emergency and will use military assets to reverse the Biden invasion through a mass deportation program.”
Alongside the repost, Trump commented, “True!”
Trump sealed a remarkable comeback to the presidency in his November 5 defeat against Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.
He has been announcing a cabinet featuring immigration hardliners, naming former Immigration and Customs Enforcement acting chief Tom Homan as his “border czar.”
Homan appeared at the Republican National Convention in July, telling supporters: “I got a message to the millions of illegal immigrants that Joe Biden’s released in our country: You better start packing now.”
Authorities estimate that some 11 million people are living in the United States illegally. Trump’s deportation plan is expected directly to impact around 20 million families.
While the US government has struggled for years to manage its southern border with Mexico, Trump has super-charged concerns by claiming an “invasion” is underway by migrants he says will rape and murder Americans.
During his campaign, Trump repeatedly railed against undocumented immigrants, employing incendiary rhetoric about foreigners who “poison the blood” of the United States and misleading his audiences about immigration statistics and policy.
Trump has not elaborated on his immigration crackdown in any detail but during his election campaign repeatedly vowed to invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to speed up deportations.
Critics say the law is outdated and point to its most recent use during World War II to hold Japanese-Americans in internment camps without due process.
The number of US border patrol encounters with migrants crossing from Mexico illegally is now about the same as in 2020, the last year of Trump’s first term, after peaking at a record 250,000 for the month of December 2023.
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