Trump’s trillion-dollar plan to deport 20 million illegal immigrants revealed- The Week

During his election campaign, president-elect Donald Trump said his Day 1 priority would be to launch the “largest mass deportation” in the US history.

But how does the unpredictable Republican plan to achieve his goal. A lawyer who is privy to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago talks told Daily Mail’s Caroline Graham that the president-elect is gearing up for “shock and awe” moves.

On Day 1 itself, Trump is set to ink executive orders, including the temporary closure of the southern border, so that officials can clear pending cases.

During his first term, Trump built around 700 miles of the controversial wall on the Mexican border while remaining 1300-mile section was halted by Joe Biden. Around $8 billion is required to complete the work and Trump has vowed to get it done, inviting sponsors for the construction.

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According to Trump, there are 20 million immigrants who are staying in the US illegally. Of these, 10 million people were allowed entry by the outgoing Joe Biden administration.

Explaining Trump’s plan, Graham said there are three steps. Step 1 is to crack down on undocumented individuals involved with criminal gangs. Dubbed ‘Operation Aurora’, Trump would invoke the Alien Enemies Act, 1798, which allows him to detain and deport non-citizens from “hostile nations” during wartime.

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This is expected to affect seven lakh Venuzuelans, Haitians, Cubans and Nicaraguans in the US. If these countries refuse to take them back, Trump will implement travel ban and block aids.

Step 2 will crack down on move 1 million people who are on deportation list after their applications were denied.

And Step 3 will be to target the remaining illegal immigrants by raiding work places. However, the first two steps are expected to be costly, estimated at around $300 billion. Besides, around $1 trillion might have to be spent to expel these immigrants.

There are fears that Trump’s move could harm the US economy. In his home state of Florida, where Ron DeSantis is the governor, strict action were taken against illegal immigrants 18 months ago. However, now farmers in the state are struggling to find cheap labour.