U.S. President-elect Donald Trump aims to deport all immigrants in the U.S. illegally over his four-year term but wants a deal to protect so-called “Dreamer” immigrants, he said in an interview that aired on Sunday on NBC News’ “Meet the Press with Kristen Welker.”
Trump also said he plans to take executive action on his first day in office to try to end birthright citizenship, which confers citizenship on anyone born in the U.S. regardless of their parents’ immigration status.
Trump, a Republican who won a second term in the White House promising mass deportations, is expected to declare illegal immigration a national emergency when he takes office on Jan. 20 and draw on resources from across the federal government to support a wide-ranging crackdown.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security estimated some 11 million immigrants were in the U.S. illegally as of January 2022, although the figure is likely higher today. In the NBC News interview, Welker asked Trump if his plan was to deport everyone without legal status
Trump affirmed his intention to remove all unauthorized immigrants, stating, “I think you have to do it. It’s a very tough thing to do. You know, you have rules, regulations, laws.”
While emphasising enforcement, Trump signaled willingness to negotiate protections for “Dreamers,” immigrants brought to the US illegally as children.
During his first term, Trump attempted to dismantle the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals programme, which provides deportation relief to this group, but was blocked by the Supreme Court policy, which grants citizenship to anyone born on US soil regardless of their parents’ immigration status, is rooted in the 14th Amendment of the Constitution and reinforced by an 1898 Supreme Court decision.
“We’ll maybe have to go back to the people,” he said.
Trump acknowledged potential legal challenges to his proposal and suggested that achieving this goal might require a constitutional amendment.
The implementation of these measures would demand substantial financial resources.
The American Immigration Council estimates the cost of deporting all unauthorized immigrants at $88 billion annually. Trump’s team, including incoming border czar Tom Homan, has called on Congress to provide significant funding increases to support immigration enforcement efforts
