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By America’s Voice

Washington, DC — In a new cover story interview in TIME, Donald Trump outlines a chilling view of his potential second term, including new details on his plans to rely on the military and law enforcement to conduct a mass purge and roundup of immigrants throughout America (see excerpts and details below).

According to Vanessa Cárdenas, Executive Director of America’s Voice:

“What does it say about Donald Trump and his vision for our nation that the central animating feature of his second term seems to be deploying American troops in American communities to conduct the mass purge and roundup of immigrants? This promised ‘great purge’ of immigrants would not only be devastating for immigrant communities but would inflict massive damage on all American communities, the economy, and the very idea of our nation as a beacon of freedom and opportunity for people around the world. He has repeatedly promised to become a ‘dictator’ on day one to achieve this radical vision.

In addition to the damage inflicted by slashing legal immigration, Trump’s promises to forcibly eject millions from their communities, homes, and businesses, shuttling them into deportation camps, and leaving millions of U.S. citizen kids behind – or revoking their citizenship and ejecting them too – is devastating to contemplate. From Dreamers to mixed-status families to long-settled undocumented homeowners and business owners deeply embedded in America, the Trump deportation vision is unsparing.

Entire communities and industries that rely on immigrants to drive the economy would be wiped out and would lose vital labor. American consumers and businesses across the board would be harmed, and labor shortages and the fight against inflation would be inflamed. Beyond the billions lost economically, the costs would be incalculably damaging through the lens of the human, community, and U.S. social fabric.

The real story of immigrants in America is one of contributions, ongoing sacrifice, and hard work to build a stronger nation. Along with blueprints like the Project 2025 agenda, the total of Trump’s agenda is an anti-democratic, white nationalist vision to remake the nation. This story should be a flashing red alert for what’s at stake in the upcoming elections and the importance of ensuring that these chilling promises for a Trump second term don’t come to pass.”

Below, find key immigration excerpts from the TIME interview with Donald Trump, “How Far Trump Would Go”:

“…To carry out a deportation operation designed to remove more than 11 million people from the country, Trump told me, he would be willing to build migrant detention camps and deploy the U.S. military, both at the border and inland.

…Trump’s radical designs for presidential power would be felt throughout the country. A main focus is the southern border. Trump says he plans to sign orders to reinstall many of the same policies from his first term, such as the Remain in Mexico program, which requires that non-Mexican asylum seekers be sent south of the border until their court dates, and Title 42, which allows border officials to expel migrants without letting them apply for asylum. Advisers say he plans to cite record border crossings and fentanyl-and child-trafficking as justification for reimposing the emergency measures. He would direct federal funding to resume construction of the border wall, likely by allocating money from the military budget without congressional approval.

The capstone of this program, advisers say, would be a massive deportation operation that would target millions of people. Trump made similar pledges in his first term, but says he plans to be more aggressive in a second.

‘People need to be deported,’ says Tom Homan, a top Trump adviser and former acting head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ‘No one should be off the table.’

For an operation of that scale, Trump says he would rely mostly on the National Guard to round up and remove undocumented migrants throughout the country. ‘If they weren’t able to, then I’d use [other parts of] the military,’ he says.

When I ask if that means he would override the Posse Comitatus Act—an 1878 law that prohibits the use of military force on civilians—Trump seems unmoved by the weight of the statute. ‘Well, these aren’t civilians,’ he says. ‘These are people that aren’t legally in our country.’ He would also seek help from local police and says he would deny funding for jurisdictions that decline to adopt his policies. ‘There’s a possibility that some won’t want to participate,’ Trump says, ‘and they won’t partake in the riches.’”

  Donald Trump, immigrants, second term