San Francisco Frontiers - Trump says to declare national emergency at border, use military

The 47th president will set to work almost immediately with a series of presidential decrees intended to drastically reduce the number of migrants entering the country.

"First, I will declare a national emergency at our southern border," Trump said minutes after his inauguration.

"All illegal entry will immediately be halted, and we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came."

He will send troops to the US-Mexico border "to repel the disastrous invasion of our country," he said.

Trump, who campaigned on a platform of curbing migration and whose policies are popular with people who fret over changing demographics, also intends to end the centuries-old practice of granting citizenship automatically to anyone born in the United States.

"We're going to end asylum," White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly told reporters, and create "an immediate removal process without possibility of asylum. We are then going to end birthright citizenship."

The US Constitution grants citizenship to anyone born on US soil.

Kelly said Trump's actions will "clarify" the 14th Amendment, which addresses birthright citizenship.

"Federal government will not recognize automatic birthright citizenship for children of illegal aliens born in the United States," she said.

- Appointments cancelled -

The first effects of Trump's stance became apparent minutes after his inauguration when an app unveiled under president Joe Biden to help process migrants went offline.

"Effective January 20, 2025, the functionalities of CBP One that previously allowed undocumented aliens to submit advance information and schedule appointments at eight southwest border ports of entry is no longer available, and existing appointments have been cancelled," said a notice on the landing page.

US media reported 30,000 people had appointments scheduled.

Trump's key adviser and noted immigration hardliner Stephen Miller took to social media to announce that the doors were shut.

"All illegal aliens seeking entry into the United States should turn back now," he wrote.

"Anyone entering the United States without authorization faces prosecution and expulsion."

Kelly said the administration would also reinstate the "Remain in Mexico" policy that prevailed under Trump's first administration.

Under that rule, people who apply to enter the United States at the Mexican border were not allowed to do so until their application had been decided.

- Court challenges -

Kelly said Trump would seek to use the death penalty against non-citizens who commit capital crimes including murder.

"This is about national security. This is about public safety, and this is about the victims of some of the most violent, abusive criminals we've seen enter our country in our lifetime, and it ends today," she said.

Many of Trump's first-term executive actions were rescinded under Biden, including one using so-called Title 42, implemented during the Covid pandemic preventing almost all entry to the country on public health grounds.

The changes under Biden led to an influx of migrants, with images of thousands of people packing the border area.

Trump frequently invoked dark imagery about how illegal migration was "poisoning the blood" of the nation, words that were seized upon by opponents as reminiscent of Nazi Germany.

- Court challenges -

While US presidents enjoy a range of powers, they are not unlimited. Analysts say any effort to alter birthright citizenship will be fraught.

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, said the 14th Amendment was "crystal clear" in granting citizenship to anyone born in the United States with the exception of children of foreign diplomats.

"We have had birthright citizenship for centuries, and a president cannot take it away with an executive order," he told AFP. "We expect rapid court challenges."

Cris Ramon, immigration senior policy advisor at civil rights group UnidosUS, said the administration was "using a 'throw spaghetti at the wall' approach."

"We don't care whether this is legal or not," he said of the apparent attitude. "We're just simply going to do it and see if it survives the courts."

L.Ramos--SFF