Donald Trump has vowed to deport millions should he achieve his goal of returning to the White House.
The former US President made an important step last night by winning the Iowa caucuses in a landslide.
The 77-year-old solidified his position as the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination.
In a speech given to Iowa voters shortly after his win was announced, Trump doubled down on his intention to deport significant numbers of migrants.
Donald Trump made a deportation vow during his speech
POOL / REUTERS
Trump made hefty promises for his planned deportation programme, saying the country will not have seen the like since Dwight Eisenhower’s presidency.
As many as 1.3 million people were deported during ‘Operation Wetback’, something Trump said he is hoping to emulate.
Joe Biden is under fire over the level of immigration
PA“We’re going to have a deportation level that we haven’t seen in this country for a long time”, he said.
“Since Dwight Eisenhower, actually.”
The US migrant crisis has become a key battleground ahead of the 2024 presidential election, with new figures suggesting illegal border crossings have jumped 277 per cent since the start of the Biden administration.
US Border Patrol recorded 2,063,692 encounters with undocumented immigrants in the 2023 fiscal year.
The number fell from the record high reached in 2022.
According to US Customs and Border Patrol data, Border Patrol recorded a total of 5,940,511 encounters which represented a 277 per cent increase from the same period during Trump’s term, from 2017 to 2019.
Biden’s supporters suggest the US President is bidding to restore a humane immigration as pressure ramps up on the issue.
The incumbent Commander-in-Chief rolled back a series of Trump measures upon taking office.
Biden branded the controversial ‘Remain in Mexico’ protocol “inhumane”, with human rights groups claiming it put migrants at risk from criminal gangs in Mexico.
Another Trump administration will likely see a return to stricter measures, and the ex-President is picking up momentum with positive polling and success in Iowa.