Trump explained his militaristic plan to deport 15-20 million migrants. Americans are increasingly open to such proposals

The Republican presidential candidate detailed in an interview with Time magazine how the plan to deport undocumented migrants would be implemented. While his ideas have received criticism, polls suggest that more and more Americans support a tough policy against migrants, CNN and the Washington Post write.

In the interview given to Time magazine, the subject of deportation is the one on which Donald Trump stopped to provide as many details as possible.

He repeated claims that many immigrants are former prisoners or have been institutionalized in their countries of origin. CNN writes that the president’s claim is false and that there is no data to support the idea that an increase in the number of immigrants causes an increase in crime.

Trump pointed to “Operation Wetback,” the deportation plan along the Mexican border during the Eisenhower administration, as a model.

What it’s about: In 1954, border officials worked with local law enforcement to round up what they claimed were more than 1 million Mexican citizens and move them to the Mexican side of the border. Historians later showed that the number was somewhat lower, with some migrants being counted twice.

In any case, the former president told Time that it would target 15 to 20 million people who he said are undocumented in the US. The exact number of undocumented immigrants is unclear.

The Pew Research Center estimated that the number of undocumented migrants in the US was about 10.5 million in 2021. The Pew estimate admits that the population may have grown as more people tried to enter the US.

“An Invasion of Our Country”

Asked if his effort would include the military, Trump said yes. “When we talk about the military, I’m generally talking about the National Guard,” he said.

The Republican presidential candidate added that he “would have no problem using the military, per se,” though he thinks the National Guard would be sufficient.

The former president also said he did not believe laws meant to prevent the military from using the military against civilians inside the US without congressional approval would apply in this case.

“These are not civilians,” Trump said of the migrants. “These are people who are not in our country legally. This is an invasion of our country,” he added.

Trump has tried to play down the idea of ​​massive migrant detention camps, like those described to the New York Times by his immigration policy man Stephen Miller, because, the president said, people would be deported very quickly.

“We will not leave them in the country. We’re getting them out,” he said.

When asked under what authority he would make all this happen, Trump suggested he would use federal money to put pressure on local police.

Any action taken by Trump will surely be challenged in court. He promised to comply with any decision by the federal courts.

“I have great respect for the Supreme Court,” Trump said.

Americans increasingly eager for tough measures

Plans to deport millions of migrants en masse have been discussed for months — and criticized by Democrats and President Joe Biden’s campaign team. All the while, however, the Washington Post writes, opinion polls have begun to show that Americans seem to be increasingly open to such ideas and that they have increasingly harsh and outspoken views on illegal immigration.

The emergence of the surveys coincided with a prolonged crisis at the US southern border, where the number of crossings increased substantially.

For example, writes the Washington Post, Trump’s flagship proposal to build a border wall, which was supported by less than 4 in 10 Americans during his presidency, is now supported by a majority in the most recent polls.

A February CNN poll tested a number of Trump proposals that might seem extreme or unpopular.

The plan to “detain and deport millions of undocumented immigrants” has been called into question, but so has the possibility that Trump could arrest his political opponents, pardon himself and the defendants since Jan. 6.

Unlike the other proposals, which remain unpopular, the deportation plan won the support of nearly half of Americans: 48 percent.

There have been other polls.

A January poll by USA Today and Suffolk University found that Americans support a plan to “send troops to the southern border and deport illegal immigrants en masse,” by 53 percent to 43 percent.

An Economist-YouGov poll in February found that Americans support “using the military to arrest and deport people who are in the U.S. illegally,” 56 percent to 31 percent.

Perhaps most strikingly, Americans are remarkably open to another harsh tool that Trump and his allies have floated: detention camps.

A January Reuters-Ipsos poll asked whether undocumented immigrants “should be arrested and placed in detention camps pending deportation hearings.” 42% of Americans said they supported it, while 41% opposed it.