Investiture ceremony | Immigration in Donald Trump’s sights

Unsurprisingly, Donald Trump announced a series of measures around immigration on Monday during his inauguration ceremony. He promised to deport “millions and millions of criminal aliens” and declare a national emergency on the border with Mexico. But it risks facing legal challenges and logistical challenges.

State of emergency

During his inauguration speech, the new president announced that he intended to declare a state of emergency at the border with Mexico. As he clarified, this will allow him to deploy the American army and members of the National Guard there, to curb the arrival of migrants – what he called the “disastrous invasion” of the country.

A state of emergency allows the administration to dedicate federal funds to different facets of border security without requiring congressional approval for spending, among other things.

The use of a state of emergency is nothing new: President George W. Bush used it after September 11, 2001, to grant more powers to the administration in its fight against terrorism. The decree has been renewed several times since.

Asylum requests

Trump also announced his intention to reinstate his “stay in Mexico” policy, which pushed asylum seekers back to the neighboring country awaiting a decision on their status, a measure abolished by Joe Biden.

“To put this in place, it takes an agreement; there have been careful negotiations in the past,” said Ernesto Castañeda, professor at American University in Washington and director of a center at the university that studies immigration and Latin America.

Mexico’s President, Claudia Sheinbaum, a left-wing politician, has asserted that “Mexico is no one’s colony.” By congratulating President Trump on taking office, she also called on him to build a relationship based on “dialogue” and “respect”, according to Agence France-Presse.

The White House has indicated the president’s intention to “end asylum for those who cross the border illegally.”

Land law

Donald Trump had already promised to review “soil law”, which grants citizenship to anyone born on American soil. Implementing a measure in this direction is likely to be particularly difficult: the 14^e amendment clearly states that people born in the United States are citizens of the country.

Rather than opting for a difficult constitutional reform, the president would issue an executive order to “clarify” the scope of the amendment, according to Anna Kelly, deputy spokesperson at the White House.

Human rights organizations have been preparing for several months to challenge such a measure in court.

Expulsions and detention

During the campaign, Republican Party candidates promised the deportation of at least 1 million undocumented immigrants – their number in the country is currently estimated at 11 million, according to the Pew Research Center. The “border czar” appointed by Donald Trump, Tom Homan, had indicated to the Washington Post that arrests “will begin on day 1” for people threatening public and national security. Migrants accused of minor crimes could also be expelled from the country more easily.

But the logistics may be complicated.

The files must be examined, while there is already a delay in the processing of asylum applications.

“By making many more people deportable, it will be very expensive,” notes Mr. Castañeda, emphasizing that the president has not provided information on the costs of his decrees.

Other measures

The 47^e President intends to continue construction of the border wall. Some measures still remain vague, such as “crack down on criminal sanctuaries” or “improve the examination and control of foreigners”, as we can read on the White House website.

With Agence France-Presse