American families are bracing for mass arrests and deportations within hours with Donald Trump looking to sign 200 executive orders shortly after returning to the White House.
The Republican is set to sign a flurry of executive orders today aimed at transforming the US and delivering on some of the pledges he made during his successful campaign for the presidency. Executive orders are powerful tools for presidents and are legally binding, although they can be challenged in the country’s courts.
Many of Trump’s executive orders are focused on remaking the country’s current immigration laws with ending asylum access, sending American troops to the southern border with Mexico and ending birth right citizenship, namely the right to American citizenship by being born in the country, among his priorities. At a rally at the Capital One Arena in Washington DC on Sunday, Trump told supporters: “By the time the sun sets tomorrow, the invasion of our country will have come to a halt.”
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It is unclear how some of the executive orders would be immediately carried out such as ending birth right citizenship – which is guaranteed by the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution and would be an arduous process to change, requiring a two-thirds majority both Houses of Congress. But immigrant communities are bracing for the promised crackdown and mass deportations of undocumented people living in the US.
In Chicago, Reverend Tanya Lozano Washington of Lincoln United Methodist Church, in the Hispanic neighbourhood of Pilsen, cancelled in-person Spanish services to protect its congregation from any mass deportation efforts. She told NBC News: “We’re doing everything we can to explore every single option to continue to protect our community members that are vulnerable.”
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Millions of Americans backed Trump’s vision for America with illegal immigration being a major concern among voters. According to the Pew Research Center, the unauthorised immigrant population in the US grew to about 11 million in 2022, meaning nearly one in 33 Americans are undocumented.
Incoming Vice President JD Vance said deportations were vital to stop violent criminals and American workers having their wages undermined by undocumented labour. During the presidential campaign, he called for 1 million people to be deported.
Any mass deportation programme would be costly however with the American Immigration Council estimating the cost of a one-time event of removing some 2.3 million people being at least $315 billion (£256,156), more than the £181.7 billion the US spent on the NHS in 2023/24, although it believes this to be a conservative figure.
Not everyone has met Trump’s immigration plans with glee with Pope Francis branding the plans as a “disgrace.” Speaking on Italian TV, the pontiff said Trump would make “poor wretches that don’t have anything foot the bill. That’s not right. That’s not how you solve problems.”
Democratic leaders have described mass deportations as inhumane with many party figures stating they would challenge Trump’s plans. Should Trump be successful, it would be the largest mass deportation in American history.
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