President-elect Donald Trump plans to deploy troops to the US border and designate the Tren de Aragua gang as a foreign terrorist organization as one of his first acts in office on Monday.
The declarations are among 11 border-related executive orders the Republican plans to sign in the first few hours of his presidency, Fox News reported.
The news comes as a caravan of hundreds of migrants makes its way toward the US-Mexico border in hopes of crossing before the Trump administration’s toughest immigration policies take effect.
As part of one of the sweeping executive orders, the US military’s Northern Command (NORTHCOM) will be tasked with border security. An undisclosed number of US troops will be deployed to the border to “prioritize US borders and territorial integrity in strategic planning for its operations.”
“This executive order sends a clear message that the United States intends to exercise its sovereignty over its land and borders and that the armed forces have a role to play in protecting our borders,” a Trump transition source told Fox’s Bill Melugin.
The president-elect also plans to designate organized migrant gangs including Tren de Aragua, from Venezuela, and MS-13, which is Salvadoran, as foreign terrorist organizations and specially designated global terrorists.
Formally recognizing the groups as threats to national security allows the federal government more power to target the group members and those who provide support and resources to them.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott previously demanded “border czar” Vice President Kamala Harris declare Tren de Aragua a terrorist organization back in October in the wake of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray’s brutal rape and murder in Houston — allegedly at the hards of two Tren de Aragua members.
Additionally, Trump plans to terminate several Biden administration immigration policies, including mass humanitarian parole, which gives special consideration to migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela. The CBP One program — an app that allows migrants to register and request legal entry into the US from Mexico — will also be halted.
The Biden administration’s catch-and-release policy, in which the vast majority of migrants stopped at the border are set free in the US, will be halted as well.
Trump will direct officials to reinstate the “Remain in Mexico” policy, which forced asylum seekers to wait south of the border for immigration hearings.
Construction of the border wall will also resume as part of the directive.
The declarations follow through on a promise Trump made in a passionate speech to supporters Sunday in Washington.
“By the time the sun sets tomorrow, the invasion of our country will have come to a halt,” he said to cheers at a “Make America Great Again Victory Rally” at the Capital One Arena.
According to Fox, Trump will announce details of his planned executive orders during his inaugural speech Monday.
The news comes as hundreds of migrants made their way toward the Mexico-US border. The caravan was seen forcing through Tapachula in the southern tip of Mexico Monday, more than 1,000 miles from southern Texas.
The caravan is likely to be intercepted and broken up by Mexican authorities — as previous groups have been in recent months.
