Voters chose to send President-elect Trump back to the White House in large part over concerns about immigration and border security, something the former president will look to quickly address when he starts a new term in office.
“He could probably shut down the border, declare that there’s an emergency… stop the entry of people until further notice,” Alfonso Aguilar, a former chief of the U.S. Office of Citizenship and the Director of Hispanic Engagement at the American Principles Project, told Fox News Digital. “That I think in some shape or form, will be one of his first actions.”
The comments come as Trump will now shift his focus from the campaign to his return to the White House, where immigration and border security promise to be top concerns for the incoming administration.
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Then-Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024, in Mint Hill, N.C. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
Trump spent much of the campaign promising to secure the border and deport those in the country illegally, drawing a sharp contrast between himself and the Biden administration, which saw record-setting numbers of border crossings over its first three years in the White House.
Voters rewarded Trump for the messaging, with 75% of voters indicating that border security was an important factor to them in the most recent election, 61% of whom supported Trump, according to the Fox News Voter Analysis.
Trump will look to make good on that trust on Day 1 of his new administration, Aguilar said, when shutting down the border could just be one of several announced changes.
Another way Trump could act on Day 1 is to announce expedited procedures for removing immigrants who are in the country illegally, most notably immigrants who have committed crimes.
U.S. Republican Presidential Candidate and former President Donald Trump speaks at the U.S.-Mexico border on Aug. 22, 2024 south of Sierra Vista, Arizona. Trump will hold a rally in Glendale, Arizona tomorrow. (Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)
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“If you identify people who have criminal records, who have committed a crime, you have somehow find a way to expedite their removal,” Aguilar said. “I would imagine that they have in place an expedited procedure to remove those individuals involved in crime.”
Other policies that could see swift changing include an end to the CHNV parole program, which has allowed migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela to apply for Advance Travel Authorizations into the U.S. and then be paroled into the country with a court date, with many being eligible to apply for work authorization once in the country.
“They can end that on Day 1,” Aguilar said.
Catch-and-release tactics are also likely to end quickly under Trump, Aguilar noted.
A group claiming to be from India sit in the shade of the border wall as they wait to be picked up by Border Patrol after crossing through the border fence in the Tucson Sector of the U.S.-Mexico border, Aug. 29, 2023, in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument near Lukeville, Arizona. (AP Photo/Matt York)
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Aguilar also said there could be a return of “workforce raids,” an enforcement tactic not seen in recent years that might be back in the “first few days, few weeks.”
Other policies, however, are likely to take time, including a return to the Migrant Protection Protocols, more commonly referred to as “Remain in Mexico,” which will require coordination with the Mexican government.
Some improvements may also require legislation, including obtaining more funding to finish the border wall and hire more immigration judges and other border security personnel.
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“There’s certain things that he will be able to do administratively, but he may need some legislation for some of the other stuff,” Aguilar said. “If you want to hire more immigration judges, you’re going to need more money, so I would imagine that they will also have some sort of immigration package ready to go to get money from Congress.”