International
Trump’s Migration Measures: Comprehensive Deportations and Colossal Holding Facilities
Former U.S. President Donald Trump (2017-2021), a favorite to be the Republican candidate in the November elections, has made it clear that if he returns to the White House, his immigration policy will go beyond the famous border wall that propelled him to the presidency in 2016.
In his campaign rallies, he has adopted strong anti-immigrant rhetoric, going as far as to claim that foreigners “poison” the blood of the U.S. and proposing plans ranging from mass deportations to the construction of giant centers to detain undocumented migrants.
Mass Deportations, Trump’s Promise
Trump has repeatedly promised at his campaign events that, if he returns to the presidency, he will carry out the “largest deportation operation” in U.S. history.
To do so, the federal government would seek help from reservists of the National Guard, detailed Stephen Miller, the chief ideologue of Trump’s xenophobic proposals, just three days ago during the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), the major gathering of the American right.
According to Miller, Trump would deploy the military to the border to deny entry to those who need to apply for asylum and would automatically deport those who attempt to cross into Mexico.
Trump has cited as an example of this type of deportation the so-called ‘Operation Wetback’, executed in 1954 by then-President Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953-1961), which resulted in the deportation of over a million people, mostly Mexicans.
According to historian Mae Ngai in her book ‘Impossible Subjects’, the deportations were brutal, with some Mexicans repatriated in what could easily have been an “18th-century slave ship,” while others died of sunstroke after being abandoned by U.S. authorities in the desert.
Giant Centers to Detain Migrants
To execute this apocalyptic operation, Trump’s campaign has hinted at its plans to build large centers to detain migrants and then expel them from the United States.
The idea would be to establish “large-scale” facilities where migrants would wait to be deported with scheduled expulsion flights continuously, explained Stephen Miller at the CPAC conference, who previously advised Trump during his presidency and could return to the White House.
However, the legality of these centers could be challenged in court, as happened with some of Trump’s more radical plans when he was in the White House.
Anticipating these legal challenges, Trump has promised to invoke a section of the immigration and sedition laws passed by Congress in 1789, which give the president greater power to deport and detain individuals who are not U.S. citizens in times of war.
This law was used during World War II by President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945) to establish internment camps where thousands of Japanese migrants and their U.S.-born descendants were detained.
Trump’s campaign has not specified how many migrants would be subject to these policies. However, it is estimated that there are currently 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States.
Family Separation
Trump has also not ruled out the possibility of separating migrant families again, a policy he implemented during his time in the White House.
During an appearance on CNN last year, Trump admitted that the idea of separating families “sounds tough,” but then added: “When you tell families that if they come we’re going to separate them, they don’t come. And we can’t afford to have more.”
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), responsible for migration, has acknowledged that 4,227 children were separated from their families during the Trump administration.
Following the inauguration of President Joe Biden in January 2021, a task force was created to address this issue, and according to a DHS report from November 2023, 3,147 children have already been reunited with their parents.
Biden’s reelection campaign has sounded the alarm about Trump’s policies and has described his immigration plans as “racist, anti-American, and ineffective.”
“It’s just cheap politics,” said Maca Casado, the director of Hispanic media for the campaign.
International
Trump signs order to end federal funding for NPR and PBS
U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday to halt federal funding for two public media outlets, PBS television and NPR radio, accusing them of being biased.
NPR and PBS are partially funded by American taxpayers but rely heavily on private donations.
Trump has long maintained a hostile relationship with most media outlets, which he has referred to as the “enemy of the people.”
An exception is the conservative Fox News channel, some of whose hosts have played important roles in the administration of the Republican magnate.
“National Public Radio (NPR) and Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) receive taxpayer funding through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB),” Trump said.
“Therefore, I direct the CPB board and all executive departments and agencies to cease federal funding for NPR and PBS,” he added.
The Republican leader argued that “neither of these entities provides a fair, accurate, or impartial portrayal of current events to the taxpayer citizens.”
At the end of March, Donald Trump called on Congress to end public funding for these two “horrible and completely biased networks.”
International
Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka
Japanese police arrested a man on Thursday after he rammed his car into a group of seven schoolchildren in an apparent deliberate attack in the city of Osaka.
The children, who were on their way home from school, sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital. All seven remained conscious, according to local authorities.
An Osaka police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the suspect is a 28-year-old man from Tokyo. The officer shared statements the man made after his arrest: “I was fed up with everything, so I decided to kill people by driving into several elementary school children,” the suspect reportedly said.
The man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
The injured children, aged between seven and eight, included a seven-year-old girl who suffered a fractured jaw. The six other children—all boys—suffered minor injuries such as bruises and scratches and were undergoing medical evaluation.
Witnesses described the car as “zigzagging” before hitting the children. One witness told Nippon TV that a girl was “covered in blood” and the others appeared to have scratches.
Another witness said the driver, who was wearing a face mask, looked to be in shock when school staff pulled him from the vehicle.
Violent crimes are rare in Japan, though serious incidents do occur from time to time. In 2008, Tomohiro Kato drove a two-ton truck into pedestrians in Tokyo’s Akihabara district, then fatally stabbed several victims. Seven people were killed in that attack.
Internacionales
Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages
May Day protests in France were marked by a heavy police presence and clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement in several cities.
In Paris, Lyon, and Nantes, thousands took to the streets to demand better wages, fairer working conditions, and to voice their dissatisfaction with President Emmanuel Macron’s government.
While the majority of the demonstrations remained peaceful, isolated confrontations broke out in some areas. Protesters threw objects at the police, prompting the use of tear gas and resulting in several arrests.
Videos showing police crackdowns circulated widely on social media, drawing criticism from labor unions and human rights advocates, who denounced the authorities’ response to the protests.
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