During his town hall event on Wednesday with Fox News, former President Donald Trump reiterated his pledged to deport illegal border crossers if elected.
“You’ve said you can take care of the border in 24 hours after taking office. How will you gather the several millions that have already entered our country illegally and return them to their country of origin?” asked one audience member.
"It's not sustainable for our country,” Trump replied. “We have millions and millions of people here. It is not sustainable. Did you see in New York City, where they're getting the regular students out and they're putting migrants in their place? We are going to have the largest deportation effort in the history of our country, we're bringing everybody back where they came from. We have no choice. We have no choice."
President Trump in Iowa: "We have millions and millions of people here... Did you see in New York where they're kicking the regular students out and putting migrants in their place? We are going to have the largest deportation effort in the history of our country.” pic.twitter.com/qaCSf4Np21
— MAGA War Room (@MAGAIncWarRoom) January 11, 2024
The former president was referencing how students at the James Madison High School in Brooklyn were forced into a remote learning situation this week as a massive storm with heavy rains and strong winds moved through New York. The school was notified by city officials that they would need to transform the building into “a temporary overnight respite center” for the nearly 2,000 illegal immigrants being housed in a nearby tent facility over concerns about the structure’s integrity in the storm.
Trump's comments came hours after the House held its first hearing to impeach Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Wednesday.
"Secretary Mayorkas has brazenly refused to enforce the laws passed by Congress that knowingly made our country less safe," Homeland Security Chairman Mark Greene (R-TN) said as the hearing kicked off. "What we are seeing here is a willful violation of his oath of office by Secretary Mayorkas."