(NewsNation) — President-elect Donald Trump made securing the U.S. southern border a central component of his campaign for a second term in the White House, claiming he will execute the largest domestic deportation in American history as soon as he takes office.
Now, as he looks ahead to January after defeating Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump is formulating what other policies will be part of his plan to solve the country’s immigration issues. Trump pledged to supporters early Wednesday morning that he would “fix our borders and “fix everything about our country.”
As part of his border plan, Trump has pledged to go after the roughly 1.5 million immigrants who are in the U.S. and who have already received a formal order of removal. These immigrants include those who have been told by a judge that they do not qualify for asylum. Trump has also pledged to target immigrants who have been convicted of crimes and entered the U.S. illegally.
Migrants-turned-smugglers facing felony charges
Trump has also pledged to remove temporary protection status for immigrants, including those from Haiti who are currently living in Springfield, Ohio. Vice President-elect and Ohio Sen. JD Vance has joined Trump in the effort to remove the due process for those immigrants.
Trump’s border plan also involves leaning heavily into local law enforcement officers and military members to help secure the southern border. However, local law enforcement officials, such as Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels in Arizona, said that he is concerned with how his department, which is already stretched thin, can assist federal agents in trying to apprehend immigrants.
Dannels told NewsNation that he would need to see specifics of what that plan would look like.
However, after Trump was projected to win the White House early Wednesday morning, border agents have expressed a renewed sense of energy now that Trump will again be in the Oval Office and told NewsNation they again feel empowered to do their jobs.
Trump said he will hire 10,000 additional agents to help secure the border. However, agents who were hired after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks are now ready to retire over the next couple of years, making the timing of the new hires critical.
