Trump has confirmed reports that he plans to declare a national emergency to enact a mass deportation program
Donald Trump announced on Monday that his administration plans to declare a national emergency and deploy the U.S. military to carry out mass deportations of undocumented immigrants.
In an early morning post on social media, Trump responded “TRUE!!!” to a statement by Tom Fitton, the president of the conservative group Judicial Watch. Fitton had written on November 8 that the next administration “will use military assets to reverse the Biden invasion through a mass deportation program.”
Since his decisive election win, Trump has reaffirmed his commitment to fulfilling his campaign promise of launching mass deportations starting on the first day of his presidency. However, many details about what he has referred to as the “largest deportation program in American history” remain unclear.
Trump has suggested he will invoke wartime powers, rely on military personnel, and collaborate with sympathetic state and local officials. Such a sweeping operation, especially one involving the military, is almost certain to face legal challenges and resistance from Democratic leaders. Some have already stated their intent to refuse cooperation with Trump’s deportation plans.
Through key personnel appointments, Trump is assembling a team of loyalists and hardliners to enforce his second-term immigration agenda. Tom Homan, who served as the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement during Trump’s first term, has been named “border czar” with broad responsibilities. In a social media post, Trump announced Homan would oversee “all Deportation of Illegal Aliens back to their Country of Origin.”
Stephen Miller, a staunch defender of the previous administration's controversial immigration policies—including family separation—has been appointed White House deputy chief of staff for policy and homeland security adviser. This position grants him significant influence over immigration policy. Additionally, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, known for her hardline immigration stance, has been nominated as the next secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.
Legal experts and advocates warn that a deportation campaign of the magnitude Trump envisions would face substantial legal and logistical hurdles, as well as enormous costs. The infrastructure required to detain and deport millions of individuals—many of whom have lived in the U.S. for over a decade, contribute to the economy, and have U.S.-citizen family members—would be immense.
Trump and Miller have proposed federalizing state National Guard personnel to enforce immigration laws, including sending troops from Republican-led states to states with Democratic governors who refuse to cooperate. Miller has also advocated for constructing large-scale detention facilities, including camps and tents.
In his first post-election interview with NBC News, Trump insisted he had “no choice” but to implement the deportation plan, regardless of its financial implications. “It’s not a question of a price tag,” he said. “When people have killed and murdered, when drug lords have destroyed countries, and now they’re going back to those countries. They’re not staying here. There is no price tag.”
According to estimates by the American Immigration Council, deporting one million people annually would cost over $960 billion across a decade. Trump has claimed at various times that he would deport between 15 and 20 million undocumented immigrants, though these figures remain unverified.