President Trump Doubles Down on Mass Deportation in Address to US Congress

WASHINGTON, DC – United States President, Donald Trump, has doubled down on his moves deport illegal migrations, castigating Democrats for what he regarded as an influx of Caribbean and other immigrants in the country.

“So, while we take out the criminals, killers, traffickers and child predators who were allowed to enter our country under the open-border policy of these people, the Democrats, the Biden administration,  the open border, insane policies that you have allowed to destroy our country,  we will now bring in brilliant, hard-working, job-creating people,” Trump said in his address to the United States Congress on Tuesday night.

“They’re going to pay a lot of money, and we’re going to reduce our debt with that money,” he said, describing the illegal immigrants as “now officially in the same category as ISIS, and that is not good for them.

“Countless thousands of these terrorists were welcomed into the US by the Biden administration. But now, every last one will be rounded up and forcibly removed from our country, or if they are too dangerous, put in jails, standing trial in this country because we don’t want them to come back ever.”

Trump said that he has sent to the US Congress “a detailed funding request laying out exactly how we will eliminate these threats to protect our homeland and complete the largest deportation operation in American history”.

He said the program would be “larger even than current record-holder President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a moderate man but someone who believed very strongly in borders.

“Americans expect Congress to send me this funding without delay, so I can sign it into law,” he said, adding “I’ll sign it so fast you won’t even believe it.”

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) noted that Trump had promised to “decimate American communities by targeting immigrants who are already contributing members of society and blocking new immigrants from coming lawfully to the United States.

“Trump has made clear that he will double down on what he did during his (first) presidency  without regard for the law, decency, or common sense,” it said.

The New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC), an umbrella policy and advocacy organization that represents over 200 immigrant and refugee rights groups throughout New York, warned that the Trump administration’s Executive Order on national registration will force Caribbean and other immigrants into the shadow.

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that most individuals over 14 years old living in the United States without immigration status will need to register with USCIS and provide their fingerprints and address.

NYIC said that individuals would need to carry proof of this registration on them and that not registering or failing to carry proof of registration would be a criminal offense that could lead to detention and deportation.

“At a time when trust in the federal government is plummeting among immigrant communities, the Trump administration is making plans to obtain millions of people’s personal information and requiring them to carry papers,” NYIC’s President and CEO Murad Awawdeh told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC).

“Trump’s registry will create the conditions for mass roundups, and racial profiling of both citizens and noncitizens. We want to be clear to community members that are worried about Trump’s registry: as of now, this registry does not exist. This is a developing situation, and we urge people to consult with a trusted legal representative before creating an account with the USCIS or submitting any forms or information.

“The Trump registry is another example of this administration taking unclear actions in hopes of creating fear and uncertainty in our communities,” Awawdeh said, adding “but if and when this programme is unveiled, there will be a heightened threat of criminal prosecution for failure to register or failure to carry evidence of registration, giving Trump another tool for mass deportations and detentions without a pathway to lawful status.

“This will hurt public safety for all of us, as people will be forced further into the shadows and trust for public institutions will erode,” he said.

USCIS noted that, on January 20,  President Trump issued the Protecting the American People Against Invasion executive order, which directed the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to ensure that immigrants comply with their duty to register with the government and ensure that “failure to comply is treated as a civil and criminal enforcement priority.”

USCIS said DHS will issue evidence of registration, which immigrants over the age of 18 must carry and keep in their possession at all times.