The incoming president has suggested that he will declare a national emergency to speed up the removal of illegal aliens.
Some 57% of Americans approve of President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed deportation of every single illegal immigrant in the US, a CBS News poll has found. Democrat mayors and governors have vowed to resist the incoming president’s plans.
Published on Sunday, the poll found broad satisfaction with Trump’s defeat of Vice President Kamala Harris in this month’s presidential election, with 55% of respondents saying that they felt ‘happy’ or ‘satisfied’ with the result, and 44% feeling ‘angry’ or ‘dissatisfied’.
The poll also found that 57% of respondents approve of one of Trump’s most controversial proposals: the deportation of all immigrants in the US illegally. 43% disapprove of the policy.
Trump has promised since last year that, if elected, he would lead “the largest deportation operation in American history.” With anywhere from 11 million to 35 million illegal immigrants living in the US, Trump’s proposed border czar, Tom Homan, has said that those who commit crimes in the country or otherwise threaten national security will be prioritized for deportation.
The incoming president said before the election that he would invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to “remove all known or suspected gang members, drug dealers, or cartel members from the United States.” This law gives the president authority to bypass immigration courts, although critics argue that it only applies when the US is at war with a foreign government and cannot be used to deal with transnational gangs and their members.
Last week, Trump shared an article on his Truth Social platform suggesting that he would declare a national emergency and “use military assets to reverse the [President Joe] Biden invasion through a mass deportation program.”
According to the CBS poll, 82% of respondents want Trump to use immigration and border patrol agencies to carry out the deportations, while 40% support the use of the US military.
Harris repeatedly criticized Trump’s deportation plans on the campaign trail, arguing that it would “tear families apart.” Speaking to CBS last month, Homan dismissed this concern, declaring that “families can be deported together.”
Several Democrat mayors and governors have pledged to resist any deportation operation, with Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey stating that she would “absolutely not” allow state police to assist federal immigration agents, and New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy telling reporters that his administration would take any “action we deem to be necessary” to stymie Trump’s plans.
”If you’re not going to help us, get the hell out of the way because we’re going to do it,” Homan told Fox News earlier this month.
