‘National emergency’: Trump declared an ambitious crackdown on illegal immigration in his inaugural speech
President Trump on Monday he made a series of ambitious announcements on border security and immigration, eyeing a sweeping overhaul of US policy and likely fueling pushback from Democrats and immigration activists in the coming weeks and months.
Trump used his inaugural address to outline his plans to fulfill his campaign promises to close the southern border and launch a historic campaign of mass deportation.
“First, I will declare a national emergency on our southern border. All illegal entry will be stopped immediately,” Trump said moments after being inaugurated. “And we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places they came from.”
TRUMP CONCLUDES ‘NEW ERA OF NATIONAL SUCCESS’, SAYS AMERICA’S ‘FALL IS OVER’ IN INAUGURAL ADDRESS
Donald Trump is sworn in as the 47th President of the United States as his wife Melania Trump holds a Bible on January 20, 2025. (Morry Gash/Pool via REUTERS)
Fox News he predicted Trump’s immigration moves, which include deploying the military to the border, ending the Biden-era parole policy, renewing construction of a border wall and designating international cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.
And Trump will finish citizenship by birth for illegal immigrants, suspending refugee resettlement and creating a fast-track removal process that does not allow for asylum applications, officials told reporters.
Officials told reporters in a press conference that Trump would sign the order clarifying the language of the 14th Amendment and stating that the federal government “will not recognize automatic birthright citizenship for children of illegal aliens born in the United States.”
Trump repeated many of these promises in his speech.
President Trump speaks during the inauguration ceremony in the Rotunda of the US Capitol on January 20, 2025. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
“We will reinstate my policy of staying in Mexico. I will end the practice of catch and release. And I will send troops to the southern border to repel a catastrophic invasion of our country. Under the orders I signed today, we will also designate cartels as foreign terrorist organizations,” he said. .
“And invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, I will direct our government to use the full and overwhelming power of federal and state law enforcement to eliminate the presence of all foreign gangs and criminal networks that bring destructive crime to U.S. soil, including our cities and inner cities.”
TRUMP TO TAKE MORE THAN 200 EXECUTIVE ACTIONS ON DAY ONE
“As commander in chief, I have no greater responsibility than to defend our country against threats and invasions,” he said. “And that’s exactly what I’m going to do. We’re going to do it on a level that no one has ever seen before.”
Trump has made the fight against illegal immigration, including a mass deportation operation, a central theme of his 2024 campaign.
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Polls have shown that Americans see illegal immigration as a top issue heading into the 2024 election, and some Democrats in Congress recently supported legislation requiring the detention of certain illegal immigrants by immigration and customs.
Fox News’ Brooke Singman and Bill Melugin contributed to this report.
