Trump administration setting stage for mass deportations
Clip: 1/21/2025 | 6m 18sVideo has Closed Captions
How the Trump administration is setting the groundwork for mass deportations
President Trump signed executive orders to end birthright citizenship for children of undocumented parents and declare cartels terrorist organizations. White House Correspondent Laura Barrón-López reports on the latest.
Major corporate funding for the PBS News Hour is provided by BDO, BNSF, Consumer Cellular, American Cruise Lines, and Raymond James. Funding for the PBS NewsHour Weekend is provided by...
Trump administration setting stage for mass deportations
Clip: 1/21/2025 | 6m 18sVideo has Closed Captions
President Trump signed executive orders to end birthright citizenship for children of undocumented parents and declare cartels terrorist organizations. White House Correspondent Laura Barrón-López reports on the latest.
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipAMNA NAWAZ: Let's delve more now into President Trump's moves, specifically on immigration, including executive orders to end birthright citizenship for children of undocumented parents and declare cartels terrorist organizations.
Our White House correspondent, Laura Barron Lopez, has been tracking it all and joins us now.
So, Laura, less than a day into Mr. Trump's presidency, we have already seen some legal pushback to some of these immigration-related executive actions.
What's the latest on that?
LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: That's right, Amna.
we have -- there are lawsuits filed already by the ACLU, as well as 18 attorneys general in Democratic-led states, specifically challenging that executive order you just talked about that is attempting to end birthright citizenship for children of undocumented parents who were born here in the United States.
Many legal experts say that that executive order directly defies the 14th Amendment.
So far, there's no lawsuit yet against Donald Trump's other executive order that declares a national emergency at the border, which would allow him to bypass some legal statutes and use military and send troops to the border.
But sending military to the border is likely to also be fought in court.
And it could clash with an 1870s law that prohibits active military from being enforced -- from enforcing civilian laws.
And many of the immigration advocates that we spoke to today said that these lawsuits are trying to slow down these (AUDIO GAP) to get injunctions.
And another thing we should point out on that birthright executive order, Amna, is that many immigration lawyers, immigration advocates are concerned that it could not just impact undocumented -- children of undocumented migrants born in the U.S., but also children who are born to parents who are here legally on work or education visas.
AMNA NAWAZ: Laura, are the court challenges here part of the White House strategy?
I mean, is there a look ahead that potentially, if they end up before a conservative-leaning Supreme Court, the issue could go their way?
LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Yes.
The administration and sources close to the administration that I have talked to expected legal challenges.
They didn't really think that these would go without legal challenges, and they feel as though they could potentially get in front of friendly judges, including that conservative-dominant Supreme Court.
Now, one other law -- or one other action that could very well end up being challenge, Amna, is whether or not the president decides to invoke the Alien Enemies Act.
He said yesterday in his address that he would.
So far, it appears as though he hasn't yet.
And, with that action, lawyers and constitutional scholars are concerned that he may very well use powers under the Alien Enemies Act to not just target undocumented migrants, but to also target migrants who are here lawfully, and he could use it to deport and detain them.
So there are a lot of unknowns here.
We also don't know how many troops could be sent to the border or when they could be sent to the border.
The administration has not provided those specifics yet, Amna.
AMNA NAWAZ: Well, President Trump had mentioned that there could be a wave of immigration raids in his early days.
We saw his border czar, Tom Homan, mention the same thing.
When are those raids expected?
LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Tom Homan said today on CNN that there are actions already being taken, that ICE essentially has its handcuffs off, and he said to CNN that it is not just going to be criminal migrants that are here or migrants that pose a public safety threat.
He did say that if -- as ICE is conducting arrests, if there are undocumented migrants who are not criminals, who have no criminal record, if they are around, then ICE will arrest them as well, and they could be deported and detained.
He has said in the past that all people are on the table here.
Our colleague as well, Amna, Ryan Connelly Holmes has been talking to people in Chicago, where one of the raids could very well take place, specifically Lawrence Benito, who runs the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, who is trying to help prepare immigrants there.
LAWRENCE BENITO, Executive Director, Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights: Regardless of immigration status, people are afforded certain rights to remain silent, not let people into their homes, making sure that they have a right to an attorney, to receive counsel.
We understand how ICE operates.
We have a plan in place.
We have been doing this work for a while.
LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: And just today, Amna, the Homeland Security Department rescinded a Biden era memo that told ICE not to target migrants near what they designated safe spaces such as churches or schools.
AMNA NAWAZ: Laura, also, yesterday, we saw the CBP-1 app, which migrants had been using as a legal means to get asylum appointments at legal points of entry at the U.S. southern border, shut down right away by the Trump administration almost immediately after they took office.
What has that meant in terms of the practical impact at the border?
LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: I spoke to a refugee worker, Amna, located in Tijuana today, who said that there were so many migrants (AUDIO GAP) border for those appointments through that CBP-1 app through -- to get legal entry, that they had sold their homes, that they had sold some of their belongings, that they had quit their jobs in order to make it to the southern border for those appointments.
And now they're left with no options and they're not sure what to do.
In addition to shutting down the CBP-1 app, Amna, the president also stopped refugee resettlement admissions.
And I was talking to an active-duty military member of the 82nd Airborne, who said that this impacts his family directly.
His family is in Afghanistan, and he's been trying to get them out, that -- we're talking about the Afghans who helped America during the war there.
And he's very upset and troubled by the fact that this executive order, which appears to be indefinite, could -- is impacting his family, and they're looking to the president to reverse course.
AMNA NAWAZ: That's our White House correspondent, Laura Barron-Lopez.
Laura, thank you.
LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Thank you.
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipMajor corporate funding for the PBS News Hour is provided by BDO, BNSF, Consumer Cellular, American Cruise Lines, and Raymond James. Funding for the PBS NewsHour Weekend is provided by...