Trump unveils plan to deport illegal immigrants, end birthright citizenship

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has announced an ambitious plan to deport all immigrants living in the United States illegally during his upcoming four-year term.

He described illegal immigration as a “national emergency” in an interview aired Sunday on NBC’s Meet the Press.

Trump reaffirmed his commitment to enforcing immigration laws, stating, “You have to do it. It’s a very tough thing to do, but you have rules, regulations, laws.” The Department of Homeland Security estimates that over 11 million people were living in the U.S. without legal status as of January 2022, a number likely higher today.

While emphasizing strict enforcement, Trump expressed openness to negotiating protections for “Dreamers”—individuals brought to the U.S. illegally as children. During his first term, Trump’s attempt to dismantle the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program was blocked by the Supreme Court, leaving the policy in place.

In addition to mass deportations, Trump announced plans to issue an executive order on his first day in office to end birthright citizenship, a policy rooted in the 14th Amendment of the Constitution. This policy, reinforced by an 1898 Supreme Court ruling, grants citizenship to anyone born on U.S. soil regardless of their parents’ immigration status. Trump acknowledged that achieving this change might require a constitutional amendment and anticipated legal challenges.

Enforcing these measures would demand substantial resources. The American Immigration Council estimates that deporting all unauthorized immigrants could cost $88 billion annually. Trump’s team, including incoming border czar Tom Homan, has urged Congress to allocate significant funding to support these efforts.