Trump's deportation plan set to begin in major US cities
The Trump administration, as reported by "The Wall Street Journal," is preparing to begin the deportation of illegal immigrants. Chicago is one of the first cities targeted. The "raid" is set to commence on Tuesday, the day following Trump's inauguration.
According to "The Wall Street Journal," Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) plans to deploy between 100 and 200 officers for this operation. However, the operation will cover not only Chicago but the entirety of the United States.
- We’re going to be doing operations all across the country. You’re going to see arrests in New York. You’re going to see arrests in Miami. And if the Chicago mayor doesn’t want to help, he can step aside. But if he impedes us, if he knowingly harbours or conceals an illegal alien, I will prosecute him - stated Tom Homan, who will oversee border security in the new US administration.
This was a key campaign topic
Immigration was one of the main topics of Donald Trump's campaign prior to the presidential election on 5th November. As early as January of last year, Trump announced that "within moments of my inauguration, we will begin the largest domestic deportation operation in American history."
Reuters notes that Trump plans to mobilise federal agencies to support the deportation of a record number of illegal immigrants. These actions are to be based on experiences from his first term and will utilise all available resources to pressure cities that oppose such actions, referred to as "sanctuary" for immigrants. Such cities include New York and Chicago.
