President-elect Donald Trump plans to issue 10 immigration-related executive orders on Monday, including declaring a national emergency at the border, an incoming White House official said.
The executive orders would follow Trump's campaign pledge to implement mass deportations as soon as he takes office.
Declaring a national emergency would allow the Department of Defense to deploy troops and National Guard troops to the border. Officials declined to elaborate on how many troops would be sent or the parameters of their operations, saying those decisions would be made by the Defense Department.
The Trump administration also said it would end birthright citizenship, the right for children born in the United States to apply for citizenship regardless of their parents’ immigration status.
Birthright citizenship is required by the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which states: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States.”
Amending the Constitution requires approval by two-thirds of Congress and three-quarters of the states, an extremely high threshold. Democrats and some legal groups have vowed to challenge in court any attempt by Trump to repeal birthright citizenship.
“Ending birthright citizenship is un-American and unconstitutional,” Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., wrote on executive order".
The official said Trump intends to end the practice, known as "catch and release." Trump vowed during his first term to end the practice, but immigrants are still being released after crossing the border due to limitations in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention space.
The Trump administration also plans to reinstate the "Remain in Mexico" policy, which during Trump's first term allowed immigrants of all nationalities to be blocked from entering the U.S. from Mexico until they received asylum appointments. The official did not elaborate on whether the country agreed to any of the terms.
Mexican Foreign Minister Juan Ramon de la Fuente told news media at the Mexican president's morning meeting that the plan was "a unilateral decision that they made," adding, "We don't agree with it. We There’s a different emphasis.”
He spoke before Trump officials announced 10 planned immigration executive orders, responding to previous news reports that Trump would seek to reinstate the policy. It is unclear whether the Mexican government will block the Trump administration from enforcing the policy, which could create obstacles to the plan.
The official also said they would continue building the border wall and suspend refugee resettlement for at least four months.
The government also intends to crack down on drug cartels and so-called immigrant gangs, particularly MS-13 and Tren de Aragua. The official said they intend to designate the groups as foreign terrorist organizations, which would make it illegal for anyone to provide aid or cooperation to the groups.
This is a development story. Please check back for updates.