On Sunday, former Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson voiced doubts about President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed extensive deportation plans, cautioning on NBC’s Meet the Press about the moral and practical difficulties such measures would present.
- Mass Deportation Doubts: Johnson highlighted the reality of enforcement, noting it would be nearly impossible to deport the equivalent of two New York City populations of undocumented immigrants, and urged prioritizing criminals and national security threats.
- Criticism of Executive Orders: Johnson suggested banning day one executive orders, citing poor outcomes when agencies lack input during the drafting process, and pointed to past controversial orders like the travel ban.
- Democratic Resistance: Democratic-led cities, including Denver, are vowing to oppose Trump s immigration policies, with Mayor Mike Johnston pledging to resist deportation efforts.
The viability and ethics of mass deportation plans are being questioned by cities and politicians as Trump prepares to carry out his border agenda.
After arguing that presidential executive orders ought to be prohibited, former Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson questioned President-elect Donald Trump’s intentions for mass deportations on Sunday on NBC News.
The former president promised to close the southern border of the United States and carry out a massive deportation operation during Trump’s campaign. NBC host Kristen Welker asked Johnson about Trump’s strategy on Meet the Press, pointing out that he intended to keep implementing his border policies after issuing executive orders.
Therefore, the first step should be for someone to enact legislation that forbids executive orders. Johnson stated that it is not a good idea to create executive orders by transition teams without consulting the relevant agency before the cabinet secretaries are even confirmed.
Johnson continued by pointing out that Guantanamo Bay remains open and citing the travel restriction as an example of an executive action he opposed and participated in under the Obama administration. The former secretary also emphasized the reality of enforcement, even for Trump, by saying that Trump should begin with the expulsion of criminals, national security risks, and recent border crossers.
Observe:
“This idea of mass deportation would be equivalent to trying to deport all of the undocumented people in this country, which would be the population of two New York cities,” Johnson continued. “That could not happen in my lifetime.” Enforcement must be the first priority for any government, whether it is Trump’s, [President Joe Biden’s], or [former President Barack Obama’s]. Begin with the criminals, followed by recent border crossers and risks to national security.
Tom Homan is aware of that. He used to work for me, so I know he is aware of that. I would rather to have ERO target criminals rather than someone who has been in the country for 12 years, has no criminal history, and has children who are citizens of the United States. That’s how enforcement actually works. Johnson came to the conclusion that even under President Trump, that would undoubtedly be the reality of enforcement.
On November 11, Trump declared that he has nominated former acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Tom Homan, as his new border czar. Homan will be responsible for the deportation of all illegal aliens back to their home countries. Trump pledged to re-establish the travel ban, employ more Border Patrol agents, and restart the Remain in Mexico program in addition to closing the southern border and launching a large deportation operation.
However, Democratic-led states and cities have already started to rebel against the incoming administration since his election as president. Democratic Mayor Mike Johnston of Denver pledged Thursday that the city’s police officers and citizens would prepare to oppose the deportation attempt.
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