Donald Trump to make immigration ‘easy’? What President-elect said

Answering a query over whether he would deport everyone who lives in America illegally after he gets back to the White House, Trump told NBC News, “I think you have to do it”.

Just weeks after winning the 2024 US Presidential elections, the Republic leader had confirmed his plans to declare a national emergency on border security and use the American military to carry out mass deportation of undocumented immigrants.

While immigration had been at the top of the list of issues debated on during the election season, Trump’s plan pose a serious concern for international students and staffs working in the US.

MSNBC correspondent Joy Reid had warned that Trump’s grand plans for deportation will not be safe for even legal immigrants and US citizens, especially if they are not “white”.

The President-elect told NBC that the move was necessary to have rules, regulations, and laws. “They came in illegally. People that have been treated very unfairly are the people that have been online for 10 years to come into the country. We are going to make it very easy for people to come in terms of they have to pass the test. They have to be able to tell you what the Statue of Liberty is. They have to tell you a little bit about our country. They have to love our country,” Trump stated terms needed for anyone to migrate to the States.

Deportation plans will begin with ‘criminals’

He said that people wanting to move to America cannot be those coming out jails, or those who have been serving time for murder.

So, we had 11,000 and 13,000 different estimates, 13,099 murderers released into our country over the last three years. They’re walking down the streets. They’re walking next to you and your family. They’re very dangerous. You don’t want those people in this country,” Trump said.

Asserting that he will get the criminals out of the country, the Republican leader told NBC News that those who came out of mental institutions need to be put back in there, no matter which country they belong to. Trump reiterated that the deportation plan will be his top priority.

“Number one, we’re doing criminals and we’re going to do them rapidly. We’re getting the worst gang probably with MS-13 and the Venezuelan gangs are the worst in the world. They’re vicious, violent people,” he said.

Trump said that there was ‘no choice’ other than to deport everyone who is in the US illegally, noting that they are costing the country a “fortune”.

But the process, he said, would start with criminals and then further plans would be made along the way.

‘Do something with the dreamers’

The dreamers will come later in the list, he said, and noted that something has to be done about them because they were brought to America at such a young age that they now, when most of them are middle-aged, they don’t even speak their native language. “And yes, we’re going to do something about the dreamers,” he added.

Trump’s responses however hinted that his plans to ease the legal immigration process might just turn out to be a good thing for Indians.

Donald Trump, who beat Kamala Harris in the race to the White House, also said that he will work with Democrats and see if they together can come up with a plan regarding the dreamers and the mass deportation.

“But the Democrats have made it very, very difficult to do anything. Republicans are very open to the dreamers. The dreamers, we’re talking many years ago, they were brought into this country. Some of them are no longer young people,” he told NBC News.

Trump noted that in many cases “the dreamers” have emerged successful, with great jobs. And with them, he said, “we are going to have to do something”.

Notably, Trump nominated Tom Homan, a hardline anti-immigration border official, as his “border czar”, further sharpening the fears in the minds of several immigrants.

With Trump’s inauguration due in January, several American universities have advised their international students and staff to return to campus. Officials at several universities had said that students were highly concerned over their visas and whether they will be allowed to continue their education in the US.

(with inputs from agencies)