Trump laying groundwork to implement hardline immigration policies

 

In this September 2023 photo, migrants who crossed the Rio Grande and entered the US from Mexico are lined up for processing by US Customs and Border Protection in Eagle Pass, Texas. 

Eric Gay/AP

The incoming Trump administration’s plans to implement strict border measures, strike down Biden-era policies and kick off the detention and deportation of migrants at large scale are underway and starting to come into focus, according to four sources familiar with the plans.

People close to President-elect Donald Trump and his aides are laying the groundwork for expanding detention facilities to fulfill his mass deportation campaign promise, including reviewing metropolitan areas where capabilities exist. But they are also preparing executive actions that are a call back to his first term in office and could be rolled out as soon as Trump takes office, sources say.

Taken together, it amounts to the return of hardline immigration policies that garnered fierce criticism from Democrats and immigrant advocates during Trump’s first term — and a dramatic change for migrants and immigrants in the United States.

The executive actions and reviews underway include the return of the program informally known as “Remain in Mexico,” which requires migrants to stay in Mexico during their immigration proceedings in the US, revising asylum restrictions, revoking protections for migrants covered by Biden’s humanitarian parole programs and undoing ICE’s enforcement priorities, according to two sources briefed on transition policy discussions.