President-elect Donald Trump confirmed on Nov. 18 that he will declare a nationwide emergency to carry out mass deportations of illegal immigrants, a move he frequently proposed while on the campaign trail.
Tom Fitton, the head of the conservative legal group Judicial Watch, wrote in a Nov. 9 post on the social media platform Truth Social that he had heard “reports” that Trump was “prepared to declare a national emergency and will use military assets to reverse the Biden invasion through a mass deportation program.”
In his post, the president-elect did not elaborate more on his plans, but the vow to initiate mass deportations was a major part of Trump’s 2024 campaign messaging strategy.
Trump and running mate JD Vance often publicly pledged to carry out the plan and to reverse Biden-era immigration orders, saying that it’s a needed step to reduce crime and the fentanyl overdose epidemic and improve the U.S. economy.
One of Trump’s first cabinet selections was former acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Tom Homan to become his “border czar” and help initiate the plan.
“Worksite operations have to happen,” he said. “Where do we find most victims of sex trafficking and forced labor trafficking? At work sites.”
Trump, Vance, and Homan have argued that the moves will improve the U.S. economy, and Vance has specifically said that it will drive down rent and housing prices.
Scott Bessent, who has emerged as a top contender for Treasury secretary in Trump’s cabinet, also told Fox News on Nov. 11 that allowing unfettered illegal migration into the United States would be a more costly alternative in the long term.
“Let’s talk about the human cost. We have 100,000 fentanyl deaths a year because of the porous border. We have the increased crime. We have the underlying fear that the American people have. You can’t put a price on that,” he said.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other immigration groups have pledged to fight Trump’s deportation plans in the courts. During Trump’s first term in office, it was common for the ACLU to file lawsuits against a myriad of policies, including immigration-related ones, that Trump ordered as president.
“We’ll also work with states and localities to protect residents to the full extent possible and ensure that a Trump administration can’t” use state-level resources to initiate the plan, it adds.
“The drug cartels are waging war on America—and it’s now time for America to wage war on the cartels,” Trump said in a statement issued in 2023, adding that those organizations have the “blood of countless millions on their hands.”
“When I am back in the White House, the drug kingpins and vicious traffickers will never sleep soundly again,” he said at the time.
