Donald Trump is set to introduce a Rwanda-style deportation scheme in the US if he is elected president.
Migrants who cross the southern US border with Mexico will be sent to a third country for processing, allies of the Republican nominee have said
The former US president may have taken inspiration from the UK Government’s Rwanda deportation scheme, which has been marred by delays, legal challenges and ever-rising costs.
Trump wants his version of the scheme to be in full-force from the first day of his potential presidency if he wins the November election, the Wall Street Journal reports.
The third processing country has not been made clear, but a potential destination includes Guatemala after Trump set up a similar scheme there in 2020.
This was ended once president Joe Biden came into the White House.
Trump has made deportation a central policy in his 2024 campaign, even saying he aims to remove 20 million people – around 6% of the US population.
The first flights from the UK to Rwanda are scheduled to take off by early July.
Planes are expected to have less than 10 passengers due to ongoing legal challenges.
A failed asylum seeker became the first migrant officially sent to Rwanda from the UK in April, but on a voluntary basis after the government paid him £3,000 to go.
Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita, Mr Trump’s senior advisers, told the Wall Street Journal: ‘Despite our being crystal clear, some “allies” haven’t gotten the hint, and the media, in their anti-Trump zeal, has been all-too-willing to continue using anonymous sourcing and speculation about a second Trump administration in an effort to prevent a second Trump administration.
‘Unless a message is coming directly from President Trump or an authorised member of his campaign team, no aspect of future presidential staffing or policy announcements should be deemed official.’
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