Very little animated US president-elect Donald Trump more on the campaign trail like immigration. His party platform, ratified at the Republican convention in July, promised the “largest deportation programme in American history”.
His early administration appointments suggest he intends to make good on his promise.
While announcing his new “border tsar” Tom Homan late on Sunday, Trump said on social media that Homan would be responsible for “all Deportation of Illegal Aliens back to their Country of Origin”. Long-time adviser Stephen Miller, known for his hardline immigration policies, will serve as Trump’s deputy chief of staff for policy, while border critic and South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem was nominated as his next homeland security secretary. Neither Homan’s nor Miller’s position requires Senate confirmation.
Homan, a former acting director of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Miller, a senior adviser to Trump from 2017-2021, were the architects of some of Trump’s most divisive immigration policies during his first presidential term, including the separation of migrant families seeking protection at the US-Mexico border and the so-called Muslim ban. Noem was one of the most vocal supporters of Trump’s immigration policy during his campaign, describing the flow of asylum seekers over the southern border as an “invasion” in a January speech.
Speaking on Monday on Fox News, Homan said Americans should expect “a hell of a lot more” deportations this time round.
He also encouraged migrants, particularly “criminals and gang members”, to self-deport.
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