Washington: The Trump administration has deported more than three million undocumented immigrants and halted their release into the United States for 15 consecutive months, the White House claimed as it presented a sweeping account of its immigration enforcement record.
The figures were included in a White House fact sheet accompanying two executive orders signed by President Donald Trump. The orders restrict birthright citizenship for certain categories of children and direct federal agencies to halt birth tourism.
The White House said the deported migrants included thousands of people convicted of violent crimes. It did not provide a detailed breakdown of the deportations, the migrants’ countries of origin or the period covered by the figure.
The administration also claimed that no undocumented migrants had been released into the country for 15 straight months. The statement described the record as a result of measures Trump initiated during his first week after returning to office.
Trump signed an executive order invoking a crisis at the southern border and directing immediate action against illegal immigration. The White House said the order helped reverse the previous administration’s border policies.
The fact sheet also pointed to stronger visa screening and the suspension of visa processing for 75 countries. It did not identify the countries, state when processing was paused or specify which visa categories were affected.
The administration said those measures were intended to protect the United States and deter foreign visitors from remaining in the country after their authorised period of admission had expired.
The White House also highlighted what it called an unprecedented denaturalisation drive targeting people accused of fraudulently obtaining American citizenship.
It said claims had been filed against 88 people who received US citizenship despite allegedly being ineligible. The fact sheet did not identify the individuals, describe the alleged violations or provide the status of the proceedings.
The administration also said it had terminated taxpayer-funded benefits for more than 1.4 million undocumented immigrants who were improperly receiving public assistance.
It said undocumented migrants had been barred from more than a dozen taxpayer-funded healthcare programmes. The White House did not name the programmes or provide a state-by-state breakdown.
The fact sheet cited changes to the citizenship test as another part of Trump’s immigration programme. The administration said the revised test was designed to assess applicants’ knowledge of American history, government and values and ensure that they met citizenship requirements.
It also said the administration was working to remove tens of thousands of undocumented migrants from state voter rolls. Voting in federal elections is limited to US citizens, although the administration’s statement did not identify the states involved or provide figures on completed removals.
(IANS)
