Fox News reports that Texas Land Commissioner, Dawn Buckingham in a letter to Trump, confirmed that 1,402 acres of land in Starr County, located in the Rio Grande Valley sector, have been allocated for a deportation processing facility. The state acquired this land from a ranch owner in October.
According to the letter sighted by Fox News Digital, it says her office is “fully prepared to enter into an agreement with the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or the United States Border Patrol to allow a facility to be built for the processing, detention, and coordination of the largest deportation of violent criminals in the nation’s history.”
President-elect Donald Trump has consistently voiced strong opinions on illegal immigration in the United States.
He recently confirmed plans to declare a national emergency to fulfil his campaign pledge of deporting migrants living in the U.S. without legal documentation. He also confirmed he will use the military to enforce the deportation process.
“On Day 1, I will launch the largest deportation program in American history to get the criminals out,” he said during a rally at Madison Square Garden in the closing days of the presidential race. “I will rescue every city and town that has been invaded and conquered, and we will put these vicious and bloodthirsty criminals in jail, then kick them the hell out of our country as fast as possible,” Trump said.
According to the BBC, there are around 11 million undocumented immigrants currently living in the US, a number that has remained relatively stable since 2005 according to data from the Department of Homeland Security and Pew Research.
Critics have labeled the recent actions as racist and urged the Trump administration to adopt a more lenient approach.
However, Thomas Homan, the former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during Trump’s first year and a half in office, argues that the mass deportation plan does not threaten the broader immigrant community but specifically targets those residing in the U.S. without legal authorization.
ABC News reports that immigration advocacy groups and Democratic leaders are preparing to challenge President-elect Donald Trump’s plan to deport millions of undocumented immigrants by proactively drafting lawsuits that could be filed as soon as he takes office. These lawsuits aim to disrupt Trump’s plan to carry out what he calls “the largest deportation operation” in the country’s history
“In California, we’ve been thinking about the possibility of this day for months and in some cases, years, and been preparing and getting ready by looking at all of the actions Trump said he will take,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta told ABC News.
