President-elect Donald Trump said Thursday that one of his first priorities when he takes office in January is to begin mass deportations and fulfill his campaign promise to make the border “strong and powerful.”
Speaking to NBC News, Trump said while he wants people to come in, he wants them to come in the right way and his first priority will be to fix the border, which is a major issue he touted on the campaign trail.
“We obviously have to make the border strong and powerful and, and we have to — at the same time, we want people to come into our country,” he said. “And you know, I’m not somebody that says, ‘No, you can’t come in.’ We want people to come in.”
While on the trail, Trump repeatedly said, if he won the election, he would begin “largest deportation effort in American history.” When he was asked about that on Thursday, the President-elect said he has “no choice” and he would do it no matter the cost.
“It’s not a question of a price tag. It’s not — really, we have no choice,” Trump said. “When people have killed and murdered, when drug lords have destroyed countries, and now they’re going to go back to those countries because they’re not staying here. There is no price tag.”
Trump’s win on Tuesday saw him making gains among key demographics, including record gains among Latino voters. It is unclear how Trump would begin his deportation efforts as he has failed to provide any details on how it would work.
The comments from the President-elect come as CNN reported earlier that Trump’s allies and some in the private sector are already making preparations for mass detentions and the deportation of migrants currently in the United States.
Trump’s plans currently include removing undocumented immigrants who have committed crimes. However, the plans for Dreamers, immigrants who were brought to the United States as children, is currently being discussed.
