President Trump on Monday night tweeted that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will begin deporting “millions” of undocumented immigrants next week.
“Next week ICE will begin the process of removing the millions of illegal aliens who have illicitly found their way into the United States. They will be removed as fast as they come in,” Trump tweeted.
{mosads}He added that Mexico is “doing a very good job of stopping people long before they get to our Southern Border” and noted that Guatemala is “getting ready” to sign an agreement under which potential refugees would be required to apply for benefits in the country where they first land.
“Mexico, using their strong immigration laws, is doing a very good job of stopping people long before they get to our Southern Border. Guatemala is getting ready to sign a Safe-Third Agreement,” Trump added.
“The only ones who won’t do anything are the Democrats in Congress,” he said. “They must vote to get rid of the loopholes, and fix asylum! If so, Border Crisis will end quickly!”
A White House spokesperson noted in a statement to The Hill that there are “more than 1 million illegal aliens who have been issued final deportation orders by federal judges yet remain at large in the country.”
“Enforcing these final judicial orders is a top priority for Immigration and Customs Enforcement — willful defiance of our laws, and the defrauding of the American People with fraudulent asylum claims, will not be tolerated,” the spokesperson added.
The president’s tweets came one day before the president officially launches his reelection campaign. Trump made immigration a key focus of his 2016 White House bid.
Earlier this month, Trump announced that the White House had reached a deal with Mexico to avert planned 5 percent tariffs on Mexican imports.
As part of the arrangement, Mexico agreed to deploy thousands of national guard troops to its southern border to contain the influx of Central American migrants.
Updated on June 18 at 10:46 a.m.