President Trump and the Illegal Immigrants Deportation

President Donald Trump has assumed the Oval Office of the White House at the much-awaited inauguration ceremony that attracted huge on-line viewership. With his second coming, his promise of the“largest deportation operation in American history”kicks off.

Of the list of 100-odd executive orders that President Trump signed on the Day One, the deportation order is probably the most discussed about. It is so because it has the potential to impact international situation and even create humanitarian issues. Scenes of the deportation will soon be witnessed across the borders.

Trump’s Election Promise

According to reports, Trump’s stand has already been causing many migrants leave the United States on their own even before Trump entered office. They want to avoid the long ordeal that the deportation may entail.

During the campaigns for the presidential race, Trump had said: “On my first day back in the Oval Office, I will sign a historic slate of executive orders to close our border to illegal aliens and stop the invasion of our country. And on that same day, we will begin the largest deportation operation in American history, larger even than that of Dwight D. Eisenhower.”

Operation Wetback

Named as ‘Operation Wetback’, President Eisenhower carried out a huge deportation of the illegal immigrants in 1954 in which as many as 1.3 million people, mostly Mexicans, were sent away. During the operation, thousands reportedly were shoved into buses, boats and planes and sent to familiar and unfamiliar parts of Mexico where the struggled for years to rebuild their lives. Many died of sunstroke, disease and other causes while in custody. 

About 11 million illegal migrants are in the U.S.

Tom Homans has been appointed by President Trump as his Border Czar, to oversee the send off of the illegal immigrants soon after the Day One in the new tenure. American cities such as Boston, Miami, New York, Chicago among others, are reportedly going to be the hotspots of deportation.

According to the U.S. Office of Homeland Security, immigrants living in the United States without any legal status in 2024 was about 11 million. The figures, however, would be more in reality as data available after documents verified is always less than the actual numbers.

According to Peterson Institute of International Economics, approximately 15 million to 20 million unauthorized immigrants are in the United States, of which about 8.3 million are reportedly in the workforce.

Pope Francis Urges Trump to create a society of “No room for Hatred”

Pontifical head of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis has said that the plans to deport illegal migrants from the U.S. would be a “disgrace”. "That's not right. That's not how you solve problems," the Pontiff has said, in response to the deportation plans. The Pope, according to reports, has sent cordial greetings and urged Trump to create a society with “no rooms for hatred, discrimination or exclusion”.

In the past too, the Pontiff has been vocal on humanitarian issues that affect large number of poor and the deprived people. He has often warned and pulled up world leaders on such issues. In the Middle-east issues too, the Pope termed the humanitarian crisis in Palestine as a “shame”and asked institutions to investigate whether a genocide is taking place there.

Mexico to keep its Door Open

Trump during his election campaign had also promised to raise a wall at the borders of Mexico to keep illegal immigrants out of United States of America.

Immigrants may be from nay nations, and it is not known how the deportation will be carried out. However, Mexico reportedly is open to accept non-Mexican deportees too.

Mexico is a part of various international treaties that protect different protective rights of migrants. This is the reason why Mexico is open to accepting non-Mexican immigrants too. However, as Mexico may become one of the destinations for deportees, post deportation scene there is likely to be a humanitarian crisis; though Mexico must already have put a plan in place as to how to go about accepting Mexican as well as non-Mexican deportees.

What will be the Impact of Deportation on U.S. Economy?

The deportation will require a huge logistics and other arrangements by the U.S. administration, all of which means resource. Given the huge number of illegal migrants involved, who need to be deported, the U.S. will have to spend huge in the operation. Experts fear that the U.S. will have to lose a lot of funds in the exercise. Whether this fund is worth the fruit of deportation, only time can tell.

Moreover, a huge 8.3 million illegal migrants are in various workforce in the United States, particularly in the agricultural sector. When these illegal people are deported, the sectors where these people are engaged—mostly in cheap labour, will undergo an upheaval. Not only the works will suffer, but the sectors will have to immediately find new replacement. The new workforce, who would not be illegal migrants, will not like to work at the payments that the illegal workforce did. Thus, how the sectors have planned to tackle the imminent new situation is a thing eagerly awaited to unfold.

By deportation, the principal aim of President Trump is to make America for Americans, so that employment is available aplenty. Its main objective is to positively improve the internal economy of the nation. Experts fear that the deportation plan has the potential to even negatively affect the American economy.

What will be the Impact of Deportation on Geopolitics?

The “largest” deportation in the history of America is likely to create humanitarian situation of different kinds. While the U.S. under the new administration may have planned deportation, rehabilitation is another crucial question that neighbour nations need to respond to deportation with. Moreover, the action of the U.S. is sure to impact international politics in the coming days though the illegal migrants’ issue is a homeland security issue for the United States.