In a stirring speech delivered in Dubuque, Iowa, former President Trump made a bold promise that sent shockwaves across the nation. He pledged to execute “the largest domestic deportation operation in American history,” drawing parallels with the Eisenhower model.
Trump’s remarks were centered on the urgent need to secure the border and halt illegal immigration, which he described as a “nation-wrecking catastrophe.” He painted a stark contrast between his administration’s approach to border security and the current state of affairs.
“Under my leadership, we had the most secure border in U.S. history. Now, we have the worst border in the history of the world,” Trump declared, characterizing the ongoing immigration crisis as an “invasion.”
President Trump says he will carry out the “largest domestic deportation operation in American history” if elected.
Do you support this? pic.twitter.com/3juNdcOvDf
— TheDeplorableVeteran🇺🇸 (@DeplorableVet84) September 21, 2023
The former president positioned himself as the only candidate capable of decisively addressing this issue.
He asserted, “I am the only candidate in this race who will stop it cold on DAY ONE.” He further promised that a vote for him would mean an end to what he referred to as “Joe Biden’s horror show at the southern border” by Inauguration Day, 2025.
Trump’s commitment to border security was a cornerstone of his first term, and he proudly stated that he did more to secure the border than “any president in history.”
His new pledge is a continuation of this commitment. “Upon my inauguration, I will immediately terminate every Open Borders policy of the Biden administration,” Trump affirmed.
Drawing inspiration from former President Dwight Eisenhower’s “Operation Wetback,” Trump plans to carry out the largest domestic deportation operation in American history. This is not the first time Trump invoked Eisenhower’s approach; he did so even before becoming the GOP nominee for the 2016 presidential election.
NEW🚨: Trump says he will carry out the 'largest domestic deportation operation in American history' if elected as massive number of migrants cross Southern border pic.twitter.com/9VtzGRNBIY
— Officer Lew (@officer_Lew) September 21, 2023
Trump fondly recalled Eisenhower’s strategy, saying, “People liked him. I liked Ike. [That’s the] expression. ‘I Like Ike.’ Moved a million and a half illegal immigrants out of this country, moved them just beyond the border.”
“They came back. Moved them again, beyond the border: They came back. Then moved them way south. They never came back.”
A recent analysis by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) estimated that the number of illegal immigrants in the U.S. has surged to nearly 17 million.
This represents an increase of 2.3 million since Biden took office in January 2021 and an increase of 1.3 million from the same time last year. The cumulative net cost to American taxpayers is estimated to be at least $163 billion a year.
