“I think he will break every norm and law to do what he wants. The question is whether he really has such an extensive program as he described, because the reality of what he proposes would be quite devastating to the national economy and the workforce,” said Texas Representative Veronica Escobar in an interview with The Hill.
Incoming border czar Tom Homan stated in an interview that the scale of the deportation program depends on how much funding the program receives from Congress.
“I don’t have a number. We want to arrest as many people as possible who are in the country illegally,” Homan told CNN.
“If you are here illegally, you are not off the table. It’s a violation of law; entering this country illegally is a crime.”
According to the American Immigration Council, deporting 1 million undocumented immigrants per year would cost $88 billion.
“Until we hear directly from the future president whether he intends to deport as many people as he has promised, it’s all speculative,” Escobar told The Hill.
Homan has stated that he would need 100,000 detention beds and a significant increase in the number of border agents, which would cost $86 billion.
Additionally, Democrats have vowed to launch legal challenges against Trump’s plans, including ending birthright citizenship.
“If this is really their first executive order, as they have mentioned, then we will fight them. If they propose to do it properly by amending the Constitution, we will oppose that as well,” said Representative Jamie Raskin, D-Md.
During Trump’s first term, several of his immigration plans faced legal challenges and were found to violate the Administrative Procedure Act, The Hill reported. Courts also struck down other orders, including attempts to end protections for Dreamers and the use of an emergency declaration to fund his border wall, according to The Hill.
Escobar expressed concern that Trump would still find a way to achieve his goals.
“I think he will trample on the Constitution. I think he will trample on existing laws. … It seems to me that he will break laws and the Constitution left and right,” said Escobar.
/Taivo Sepp, Facebook/
