Donald J. Trump, the 45th and 47th president of the United States, announced plans to address illegal immigration and combat cartels by deploying troops to the border and designating cartels as "foreign terrorist organizations." He made this statement during his inaugural address on January 20.
According to the White House, Trump was inaugurated as the 47th President of the United States on January 20. In his inaugural address, he said that he would sign several executive orders, including declaring a national emergency at the southern border. "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," said Trump.
In a Fox News op-ed by U.S. Representative Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), he expressed that "the timing is right" to take action against cartels with new administrations taking over in both the United States and Mexico. "If Congress is serious about aligning with President Trump’s promise to fight the cartels, we need significantly more congressional firepower," Crenshaw added. He noted that fentanyl brought into the U.S. by Mexican and Chinese cartels kills around 80,000 people annually.
Over the past four years, U.S. Border Patrol has arrested over 55,000 "criminal noncitizens" who have been convicted of one or more crimes, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
The Center for Immigration Studies reports that cartels' drug trafficking and human smuggling operations generate nearly $1 billion per month. This revenue is used to expand operations across the southwest border into the United States.
According to the Wilson Center, once designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), there are three legal implications: The U.S. can prosecute individuals acting in foreign countries not likely subject to U.S. criminal law; any U.S. financial institution aware of FTO-possessed funds must report it to the Office of Foreign Assets Control; and any alien supporting/representing/training/is a member of an FTO is inadmissible and removable from the U.S. These actions fall under the responsibility of various agencies including the FBI, National Counterterrorism Center, Department of Justice, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the U.S. Treasury Department.
