ABC News reports that the illegal immigrant population in the United States could face deportation as a result of the executive order President Donald Trump signed on Wednesday, according to legal experts. A 2014 Pew Research Center study estimated the number of illegals in the U.S. to be at least 11 million.
From Julia Jacobo and Lauren Pearle at ABC News:
The order delineates several categories of undocumented immigrants who are priority for removal from the United States including those who have been “charged with any criminal offense” or those who have “committed acts that constitute as a chargeable offense.”
On the campaign trail, Trump has vacillated several times on the issue, at first indicating that all undocumented immigrants would be sent back” if they’ve done well they’re going out and they’re coming back in legally.” Then he tempered his remarks to focus on undocumented immigrants who committed crimes.
But Trump’s executive order appears to extend beyond this.
“Many aliens who illegally enter the United States and those who overstay or otherwise violate the terms of their visas present a significant threat to national security and public safety,” the order states. “This is particularly so for aliens who engage in criminal conduct in the United States.”
Anyone who came to the U.S. illegally — that is without passing through border inspection committed a criminal misdemeanor and could fall into the priority removal category, legal experts tell ABC News.
Read the rest here.