Trump says US 'has no choice but to deport illegal immigrants' en masse, as president-elect builds top team
7 November 2024, 23:01 | Updated: 8 November 2024, 06:46
Donald Trump has said he has no choice but to launch the mass deportation of people living in the US illegally.
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Mr Trump, who is set to return to the White House in January, made deporting illegal immigrants a cornerstone of his campaign.
The scheme could cost tens or even hundreds of billions of dollars and would be a huge logistical challenge.
But Mr Trump said in an interview on Thursday that "it’s not a question of a price tag".
"Really, we have no choice," he told NBC.
"When people have killed and murdered, when drug lords have destroyed countries, and now they’re going to go back to those countries because they’re not staying here.
"There is no price tag."
On Thursday evening, Mr Trump also announced his campaign manager Susie Wiles as his chief of staff.
He said that Ms Wiles "helped him achieve one of the greatest political victories in American history".He also said she was "integral part" of both his 2016 and 2020 campaigns.
"Susie is tough, smart, innovative, and is universally admired and respected. Susie will continue to work tirelessly to Make America Great Again," he said.
"It is a well deserved honour to have Susie as the first-ever female chief of staff in US history. I have no doubt that she will make our country proud."
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It comes after Joe Biden addressed the nation for the first time since the results of the US election.
In a speech outside the White House, the President promised a "peaceful transition of power".
He added the two have spoken on the phone and he reassured him there will be a peaceful changover.
He has pledged to work with Donald Trump during the last 73 days of his administration.
He also praised Vice-President Kamala Harris for her "inspiring" campaign saying she "gave her whole heart".
He told supporters they may have lost the battle - but not the fight.
Meanwhile, Mr Trump spent his first day as president-elect receiving congratulatory phone calls from his defeated opponent and world leaders as he began the process of turning his election victory into a government.
Sir Keir Starmer said the UK-US special relationship will "continue to prosper" following Donald Trump's "historic election victory".
The Prime Minister said: "Congratulations President-elect Trump on your historic election victory. I look forward to working with you in the years ahead.
"As the closest of allies, we stand shoulder to shoulder in defence of our shared values of freedom, democracy and enterprise.
"From growth and security to innovation and tech, I know that the UK-US special relationship will continue to prosper on both sides of the Atlantic for years to come."
Sir Keir will be keen to build bridges with Mr Trump after the Republican politician's campaign filed a legal complaint about Labour activists supporting Kamala Harris.
His impending return to the White House means he will want to stand up an entirely new administration from the one that served under President Joe Biden.
His team is also pledging that the second will look much like the first one Mr Trump established after his 2016 victory.
The president-elect now has a 75-day transition period to build out his team before Inauguration Day arrives on January 20.
One top item on the to-do list is filling around 4,000 government positions with political appointees - people who are specifically tapped for their jobs by Trump's team.
That includes everyone from the secretary of state and other heads of Cabinet departments to those selected to serve part-time on boards and commissions.
Around 1,200 of those presidential appointments require Senate confirmation, which should be easier with the Senate now shifting to Republican control.
The US House majority hung in the balance on Wednesday, teetering between Republican control that would usher in a new era of Republican unified governance in Washington or a flip to Democrats as a last line of resistance to a Trump second-term White House agenda.
A few individual seats, or even a single one, will determine the outcome.
Final tallies will take a while, likely pushing the decision into next week - or beyond.
After Republicans swept into the majority in the US Senate by picking up seats in West Virginia, Ohio and Montana, house speaker Mike Johnson predicted his chamber would fall in line next.
"Republicans are poised to have unified government in the White House, Senate and House," Mr Johnson said on Wednesday.
