In a familiar echo of his previous rhetoric, former President Donald Trump has intensified his hardline stance on immigration, declaring that the Republican Party platform now proposes “the largest deportation operation in the history of our country.” This assertion follows his controversial hypothesis that crime rates in Central American countries, such as El Salvador, are dropping because “they’re sending their murders to the United States of America.”
Trump’s reference to a massive deportation campaign harkens back to President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s era. “He had the largest deportation operation we’ve ever had,” Trump noted, aiming to position his future plans as even more ambitious. More than one million Mexican immigrants were deported from the US in 1954 under Operation Wetback, a campaign that remains one of the largest mass deportations in American history.
In a lengthy section of what became one of the longest convention speeches in memory, Trump placed significant blame on immigrants for various social ills. “We have become a dumping ground for the world, which is laughing at us. They think we’re stupid,” he proclaimed.
However, these declarations starkly contrast with current data and expert opinions. In 2022, there were an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States, according to the latest government estimates. More than 80 per cent of these individuals have been in the country for over a decade. During a debate last month, Trump claimed there were 18 million undocumented immigrants, a figure that remains unsubstantiated.
Immigration experts and former homeland security officials argue that the logistical, legal, bureaucratic, and financial challenges of carrying out such a massive deportation operation are immense. Achieving the mass deportations Trump envisions within a four-year presidential term is deemed virtually impossible. The cost, complexity, and human impact of such an operation pose significant barriers that cannot be overlooked.
