Daijiworld Media Network - Washington
Washington, Aug. 7: The Donald Trump administration has deported more than three million undocumented immigrants and prevented their release into the United States for 15 consecutive months, the White House claimed while outlining its immigration enforcement measures.
The figures were released in a White House fact sheet issued alongside two executive orders signed by President Donald Trump. The orders seek to restrict birthright citizenship for certain categories of children and direct federal agencies to curb birth tourism.
According to the White House, those deported included thousands of people convicted of violent crimes. However, it did not provide a detailed breakdown of the deportations, including the migrants' countries of origin or the time period covered by the figures.
The administration also claimed that no undocumented migrants had been released into the country over the past 15 months, attributing the development to measures introduced during Trump's first week after returning to office.
Trump had signed an executive order declaring a crisis at the southern border and directing immediate action to combat illegal immigration. The White House said the order reversed the previous administration's border policies.
The fact sheet also highlighted stricter visa screening measures and the suspension of visa processing for 75 countries. It did not identify the countries, specify when the suspension took effect or clarify which visa categories were affected.
According to the administration, the measures are aimed at strengthening national security and preventing foreign visitors from overstaying their authorised period of stay.
The White House further said it had launched what it described as an unprecedented denaturalisation drive targeting individuals accused of fraudulently obtaining US citizenship. It said legal action had been initiated against 88 people allegedly granted citizenship despite being ineligible, but did not disclose their identities or the status of the cases.
The administration also claimed it had terminated taxpayer-funded benefits for more than 1.4 million undocumented immigrants who were allegedly receiving public assistance improperly and barred them from accessing more than a dozen federally funded healthcare programmes. No details of the programmes or state-wise data were provided.
The fact sheet also referred to changes in the US citizenship test, stating that the revised examination was intended to better assess applicants' knowledge of American history, government and values.
In addition, the administration said efforts were underway to remove tens of thousands of undocumented migrants from state voter rolls. It did not identify the states involved or provide figures on the number of names already removed.