Deportations
Trump vowed to “launch the largest deportation program in American history” starting on day one.
He is expected to declare a national border emergency and order the military to help secure the southern border, Fox News reported.
Trump also said he would end a longstanding policy that prevented federal immigration authorities from raiding churches and schools.
Any mass deportation program is expected to face logistical difficulties, billions in costs, and a host of legal challenges.
Stay in Mexico
Trump could move quickly to re-implement his “Remain in Mexico” policy, which during his first term sent some 70,000 non-Mexican asylum seekers back across the border to Mexico to await hearings.
Do away with birthright citizenship
Trump called the 150-year-old constitutional right that anyone born on US soil is an American citizen “ridiculous” and vowed to scrap it on day one.
But doing so is much more difficult than simply issuing an executive order, because birthright citizenship is expressly guaranteed by the US Constitution.
Border closure due to health reasons
A 1944 measure called Title 42 allows the US government to restrict migration to protect public health. It was last used during the pandemic, but U.S. media reports say the new administration is looking for the disease to help justify its plans to close the U.S. southern border with Mexico.
Drug cartels
Trump is expected to classify drug cartels as “foreign terrorist organizations,” listing them alongside groups such as al-Qaeda, the so-called Islamic State and Hamas.
Build a wall
When Trump was first elected president in 2016, he signed an executive order to build a border wall. Although some parts of the wall have been built, there is still much left unfinished, and he can try to finish what he started.
