President Trump vowed Monday that Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will begin mass deportations of illegal immigrants next week.
“Next week ICE will 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,” President Trump said in a tweet on Monday night.
“Mexico, using their strong immigration laws, is doing a very good job of stopping people … long before they get to our Southern Border. Guatemala is getting ready to sign a Safe-Third Agreement. The only ones who won’t do anything are the Democrats in Congress. They must vote to get rid of the loopholes, and fix asylum! If so, Border Crisis will end quickly!” Trump added.
….long before they get to our Southern Border. Guatemala is getting ready to sign a Safe-Third Agreement. The only ones who won’t do anything are the Democrats in Congress. They must vote to get rid of the loopholes, and fix asylum! If so, Border Crisis will end quickly!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 18, 2019
An anonymous U.S. official told ABC News that the deportations will not begin immediately, however.
Another administration official called the deportations a “top priority.”
“Countless illegal aliens not only violate our borders but then break the law all over again by skipping their court hearings and absconding from federal proceedings. These runaway aliens lodge phony asylum claims only to be no-shows at court and are ordered removed in absentia,” the official told ABC News.
“There are more than 1 million illegal aliens who have been issued final deportation orders by federal judges yet remain at large in the country. These judicial removal orders were secured at great time and expense, and yet illegal aliens not only refuse to appear in court, they often obtain fraudulent identities, collect federal welfare, and illegally work in the United States. Enforcing these final judicial orders is a top priority for Immigration and Customs Enforcement — willful defiance of our laws, and the defrauding of the American People with fraudulent asylum claims, will not be tolerated,” the official added in a statement to ABC News.
The Mexican government’s immigration data claims officials have deported 37,000 Central American immigrants from January to April 2019 alone. This is on pace to exceed the total number of deportations in 2018 and 2017, which were 110,000 and 78,300, respectively.
The U.S. has already been struggling to combat the rising number of immigrants attempting to gain illegal entry into the U.S.
Customs and Border Protection data shows that agents have already apprehended 132,887 immigrants in May, a continued increase from 99,304 apprehensions in April; 92,840 in March; 66,884 in February; and 47,980 in January.
Not included in those numbers are approximately 10,000 migrants denied entry each month due to being considered “inadmissible.”
Former DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said in March that the number of illegal immigrant apprehensions is on pace to reach one million by the end of the year.
The Trump Administration has put pressure on Central American countries to curb the immigration crisis, pledging to cut funding to them if they do not enact control measures to reduce the flow of immigrants.
Approximately $432 million of previously pledged funding will go through to El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, a cut from the original $615 million funding figure; but the $370 million approved in 2018 will not be granted, and no additional funding will be allocated, according to the Associated Press on Tuesday.
U.S. State Department Spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said, “Previously awarded grants and contracts will continue with current funding … to help the Northern Triangle governments take actions that will protect the U.S. border and counter transnational organized crime will also continue.”
“We will not provide new funds for programs in those countries until we are satisfied that the Northern Triangle governments are taking concrete actions to reduce the number of migrants coming to the U.S. border,” Ortagus added. “This is consistent with the president’s direction and with the recognition that it is critical that there be sufficient political will in these countries to address the problem at its source.”
