Former President Donald Trump unveiled plans for a mass deportation should he win a second term as president in 2024 during his Conservative Political Action Conference keynote.
“Under my leadership, we will use all necessary state, local, federal, and military resources to carry out the largest domestic deportation operation in American history,” Trump told the CPAC audience Saturday. “We will pick them up, and we will throw them out of our country, and there will be no questions asked.”
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During the fiscal year of 2022, encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border broached record-breaking levels, drawing outrage from many conservatives. Trump slammed the Biden administration for the crisis. He further claimed that his administration stockpiled supplies to construct a border wall, but President Joe Biden‘s team “took it away and they hid it.”
“The first reconciliation bill I will sign will be for a massive increase in border patrol and a colossal increase in the number of ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] deportation officers,” Trump declared. “Other countries are emptying out their prisons, insane asylums, and mental institutions and sending all of their problems right into their dumping ground.”
“I will ask every state and federal agency to identify every known or suspected gang member in America and every one of them that is here illegally … we will pick them up, and we will throw them out,” Trump added.
Addressing illegal immigration has long been a top priority for Trump. One of his signature political pitches during his 2016 campaign was to build a wall and make Mexico pay for it, the latter of which didn’t manifest under his first term.
In addition to immigration, Trump also revealed plans to take aim at cities across the country with soaring rates of crime.
“I will send in the National Guard until law and order is restored. You know we’re not supposed to do that,” Trump added in his keynote address.
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Trump first delivered remarks at CPAC in 2011, roughly four years before he roared onto the political scene and ascended to the presidency. During the 2023 CPAC, Trump handily won the straw poll, illustrating his strong grip on the conservative base.
His top potential 2024 foe Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) skipped the conference, avoiding a split-screen showdown with him.
