President-Elect Donald Trump recently announced that on day one, he will use his executive authority to declare a national emergency and enlist the military to deport undocumented immigrants from the nation.
During a rally at Madison Square Garden, Trump said, “On Day 1, I will launch the largest deportation program in American history to get the criminals out.”
“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,” he added.
U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) told The Kicker, this is “extremely concerning.”
“It goes without saying that turning the U.S. military on domestic people in the United States is unheard of, unprecedented and incredibly dangerous,” she said.
“There are a lot of people who believed Donald Trump when he said that he was going after ‘criminals,’” added Ocasio-Cortez. “But, [he is actually] going after everybody.”
The New York lawmaker emphasized that “One in every 15 Americans in this country, is part of a mixed status family” who could be at risk of being targeted by Trump’s proposed initiative.
Last week, Trump tapped former Acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Tom Homan to serve as his ‘border czar.’ Homan told Fox News that he was headed to Mar-a-Lago this week to put the final touches on the deportation plan.
The Trump administration aims to prioritize the removal of undocumented migrants who officials believe are criminals or a national security threat. What some find alarming, is that Homan has not dismissed the possibility of deporting families as a unit.
U.S. Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) told The Kicker, “America is a police state right now…that’s what Trump’s base wants.”
“Are we trying to incite a civil war,” inquired Bowman. “The inhumanity of [this plan] is problematic.”
“Imagine the military going into communities, going into homes, waiting outside schools to grab undocumented immigrants and deport them back to their country,” he said. “That visual is like a third-world visual. You see that happening in other countries that we have destabilized.”
At this time, it is estimated that 11 million undocumented immigrants live in the United States. Experts say it could cost millions of dollars to remove them from the nation.
Homan has admitted that the Trump administration’s deportation plan is not foolproof and includes “a lot of what-ifs.”
U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) told The Kicker that the controversial initiative is “completely ridiculous” and impractical.
“We do not have the proper infrastructure to do the kind of mass deportations he wants to do,” said Frost. “He’s trying to figure out what he can do to make that happen….the money isn’t there [and neither is] the personnel.”
“We’ll see what happens,” says Frost.
What do you make of Trump’s deportation plan? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below?
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