Riddled with legal problems and still a leader among Republican Party candidates for the presidential nomination, Trump predicted mass arrests of undocumented immigrants already in the United States would be taken to camps until they were expelled from the country.
According to local media, Trump’s plans would drastically restrict both legal and illegal immigration, suggesting that his policies in this area would be strengthened during his previous term (2017-2021).
At a rally in Florida on Wednesday, Trump vowed to carry out “the largest internal deportation operation in American history” and claimed criminals were crossing the southern border.
In addition, he warned that among the irregular migrants arriving there were also “young and strong people with bad intentions.”
Now in New Hampshire, he has pledged to sign an executive order on the first day of a possible second term that would end funding to provide housing and transportation to undocumented immigrants.
He also said he would use some of the savings for “housing and treatment for our own homeless veterans.”
At the same time, he made allegations without evidence against President Joe Biden, who the former governor said spent more than $1 million to house undocumented immigrants in “some of the most luxurious hotels in the country.”
During his time in the Oval Office, Trump relied heavily on executive orders to advance his immigration policies, which could be repeated in an eventual second term in the presidential palace starting in January 2025.
Saturday’s stop in Claremont is part of the mogul’s campaign focus on the voter-rich state’s south after visiting northern New Hampshire last month.
For his advisers, a victory in Iowa and New Hampshire would effectively force his opponents to abandon the primaries and force donors to side with Trump.
New Hampshire is also a key state for the former White House chief’s rivals as they seek to make inroads toward Pennsylvania Avenue in this capital city.
Even former governors Nikki Haley of South Carolina and Chris Christie of New Jersey, who are vying for the Republican nomination, believe the path to a real challenge to Trump runs through New Hampshire.
/dfm