Donald Trump Confirms Plan to Declare a National Emergency to Carry Out Mass Deportations

Mar. 15, 2025

Donald Trump in Las Vegas in June, 2024.Photo:ALLISON DINNER/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

ALLISON DINNER/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

President-electDonald Trumphas confirmed his plan to declare a state of national emergency and use “military assets” to carry out mass deportations once in office.Trump, 78, verified the plan in a message toTruth Socialwhile addressing a post from Judicial Watch’s Tom Fitton.“GOOD NEWS: Reports are the incoming@RealDonaldTrumpadministration prepared to declare a national emergency and will use military assets to reverse the Biden invasion through a mass deportation program,” Fitton posted on Nov. 8.Trump responded to the post on Monday, Nov. 18, writing, “TRUE!!!”Trump previously said he would begin mass deportations “on day one” of his presidency duringa rallyin Madison Square Garden in the days leading up to the election.“I will launch the largest deportation program in American history to get the criminals out," he told the crowd, per CBS News. “I will rescue every city and town that has been invaded and conquered, and we will put these vicious and bloodthirsty criminals in jail, then kick them the hell out of our country as fast as possible.“Trump said he would utilize theNational Guardfor deportation efforts on a number of occasions while on the campaign trail, which many experts said “would mark a fundamental shift for the military, which does not normally engage with domestic law enforcement issues,” according toABC News.The same experts also noted that the plan could cost tens to hundreds of billions of dollars a year.Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Trump has already made several preliminary cabinet selections in preparation of his deportation plan, tapping candidates withaggressive anti-immigration stances.It is estimated that there are approximately11 million undocumented immigrantscurrently living in the U.S., and Trump’s plan is expected to impact roughly 20 million families,according toAxios.PerNewsweek,this would, in practice, affect about one in three families across the country.

President-electDonald Trumphas confirmed his plan to declare a state of national emergency and use “military assets” to carry out mass deportations once in office.

Trump, 78, verified the plan in a message toTruth Socialwhile addressing a post from Judicial Watch’s Tom Fitton.

“GOOD NEWS: Reports are the incoming@RealDonaldTrumpadministration prepared to declare a national emergency and will use military assets to reverse the Biden invasion through a mass deportation program,” Fitton posted on Nov. 8.

Trump responded to the post on Monday, Nov. 18, writing, “TRUE!!!”

Trump previously said he would begin mass deportations “on day one” of his presidency duringa rallyin Madison Square Garden in the days leading up to the election.

“I will launch the largest deportation program in American history to get the criminals out,” he told the crowd, per CBS News. “I will rescue every city and town that has been invaded and conquered, and we will put these vicious and bloodthirsty criminals in jail, then kick them the hell out of our country as fast as possible.”

Trump said he would utilize theNational Guardfor deportation efforts on a number of occasions while on the campaign trail, which many experts said “would mark a fundamental shift for the military, which does not normally engage with domestic law enforcement issues,” according toABC News.

The same experts also noted that the plan could cost tens to hundreds of billions of dollars a year.

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Trump has already made several preliminary cabinet selections in preparation of his deportation plan, tapping candidates withaggressive anti-immigration stances.

It is estimated that there are approximately11 million undocumented immigrantscurrently living in the U.S., and Trump’s plan is expected to impact roughly 20 million families,according toAxios.

PerNewsweek,this would, in practice, affect about one in three families across the country.

source: people.com