How Trump's Mass Deportation Plan Might Play Out

President-elect Donald Trump ran on the promise of  “the largest deportation operation in the history of our country.” What will his immigration policy look like?

The Details: It's likely Trump will reinstate his previous immigration policies, like "Remain in Mexico," which mandated immigrants seeking asylum to stay in Mexico over the weeks or months their cases were pending, and then follow with his deportation priorities.

From the Right: Analyses on the right highlighted that Trump's deportation plan would target national security threats and criminals, as opposed to unauthorized immigrants who have been here a long time. Tom Homan, former head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, is leading Trump's deportation efforts and has said there is not going to be a mass sweep of neighborhoods. "Mr. Trump has suggested he isn’t interested in illegal grandmothers," The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board (Lean Right) added. 

From the Left: Voices on the left were more likely to highlight that neither the U.S. nor Mexico are prepared for mass deportations. Economist Paul Krugman (Left bias) suggested that grocery prices would rise: "If you're upset about grocery prices now, see what happens if Trump goes after a huge part of the agricultural workforce." Writers at the Washington Post (Lean Left) posited Mexico does not have the infrastructure to absorb deportees, and its economy would shrink. The piece also criticized Trump's "Remain in Mexico" policy, which resulted in "thousands of [asylum seekers] abducted by crime groups in dangerous border cities."