Before Campaign Launch, Trump Announces Mass Deportations

'They will be removed as fast as they come in'
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jun 18, 2019 4:29 AM CDT
Updated Jun 18, 2019 6:44 AM CDT
Trump Threatens to Deport Millions Starting Next Week
In this Thursday, June 13, 2019 photo, President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House.   (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

President Trump is threatening to remove millions of people living in the country illegally. In a pair of tweets Monday night—the eve of formally announcing his re-election bid—Trump said that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement would next week "begin the process of removing the millions of illegal aliens who have illicitly found their way into the United States." "They will be removed as fast as they come in," he wrote. An administration official told the AP the effort would focus on the more than 1 million people who have been issued final deportation orders by federal judges but remain at large in the country. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to explain the president's tweets.

It is unusual for law enforcement agencies to announce raids before they take place. Some in Trump's administration believe that decisive shows of force—like mass arrests—can serve as effective deterrents, sending a message to those considering making the journey to the US that it's not worth coming. Trump has threatened a series of increasingly drastic actions as he has tried to stem the flow of Central American migrants crossing the southern border, which has risen dramatically on his watch. He recently dropped a threat to slap tariffs on Mexico after the country agreed to dispatch its national guard and step-up coordination and enforcement efforts.Trump will formally launch his re-election bid Tuesday night at a rally in Orlando, Fla.—a state that is crucial to his path back to the White House.

(More deportation stories.)

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