By Ted Hesson and Alexandra Ulmer
WASHINGTON/PIEDRAS NEGRAS, Mexico, Jan 20 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump on Monday kicked off his sweeping immigration crackdown, declaring illegal immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border a national emergency, designating criminal cartels as terrorist organizations and taking steps to block citizenship for children of immigrants in the U.S. illegally.
The series of executive orders that Trump outlined in his inaugural address, said he would invoke a 1798 wartime law known as the Alien Enemies Act to target foreign gang members in the U.S., a legal authority last used to detain non-citizens of Japanese, German, and Italian descent in internment camps during World War Two.
Shortly after the inauguration, U.S. border authorities said they had shut down outgoing President Joe Biden’s CBP One entry program, which had allowed hundreds of thousands of migrants to enter the U.S. legally by scheduling an appointment on an app. Existing appointments were canceled, leaving migrants stunned and unsure of what to do.
Trump, a Republican, recaptured the White House after promising to intensify border security and deport record numbers of migrants. Trump criticized Biden for high levels of illegal immigration during the Democrat’s presidency. In June, Biden toughened his policies and Mexico stepped up enforcement, and the number of migrants caught crossing illegally fell dramatically.
Republicans say large-scale deportations are necessary after millions of immigrants crossed illegally during Biden’s presidency. There were roughly 11 million immigrants in the U.S. illegally or with a temporary status at the start of 2022, according to a U.S. government estimate, a figure that some analysts now place at 13 million to 14 million.
“As commander-in-chief, I have no higher responsibility than to defend our country from threats and invasions, and that is exactly what I am going to do,” Trump said in his address.
Trump’s critics and immigrant advocates say mass deportations could disrupt businesses, split families and cost U.S. taxpayers billions of dollars.
The American Civil Liberties Union said in a federal court filing on Monday that Trump’s decision to end the CBP One program removed the only avenue to asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border, an opening salvo by the civil rights group to fight Trump’s agenda in court.
California and other Democratic-led states whose policies limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement also could clash with Trump.
Americans have grown less welcoming toward immigrants without legal status since Trump’s first presidency, but remain wary of harsh measures such as using detention camps, a Reuters/Ipsos poll in December found.
BIDEN ENTRY PROGRAM SHUT DOWN
In several Mexican border cities, migrants saw their appointments on Biden’s CBP One app canceled just after Trump took office. Some 280,000 people had been logging into the app daily to secure an appointment as of Jan. 7.
