Newly sworn-in U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday he will declare illegal immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border a national emergency, send troops there and ramp up deportations of criminal offenders, outlining the crackdown in his inaugural address.
Trump said be would invoke a 1798 law known as the Alien Enemies Act to target foreign gang members in the U.S., a legal authority last used to detain noncitizens 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 legal entry program known as CBP One that had allowed hundreds of thousands of migrants to enter the U.S. legally by scheduling an appointment on an app. Existing appointments were canceled, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Trump said he would designate criminal cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, part of a slate of moves that could shake up U.S.-Mexico relations.