Allies of former President Donald Trump, including people who served in his administration, supporters, and immigration experts are reportedly already drawing up plans so he will be ready for a day-one crackdown on immigration, including making preparations for his promise for the mass deportation of millions of immigrants, according to sources involved in the effort.
Those involved told The Wall Street Journal that the goal is to be ready to curb the flow of migrants that have been entering the country, undo President Joe Biden's policies on immigration, and work on the deportation plans, which Trump says will be the largest such effort in the country's history.
Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita, senior advisers for Trump's 2024 presidential campaign, spoke out against the sources' claims and accused the media of being too willing to use "anonymous sourcing and speculation" about another Trump administration.
"Unless a message is coming directly from President Trump or an authorized member of his campaign team, no aspect of future presidential staffing or policy announcements should be deemed official," they said.
But senior officials with the outside groups say they expect some of their plans will be used if Trump wins and hope to avoid what happened in 2016, when Trump fired former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, the head of his transition team, and threw out the plans Christie's team had made.
The plans reportedly include discussions of ways to expedite asylum hearings, force other countries to take back more of the people who would be returned to their homelands, and stop deportation protections enacted under Biden's presidency.
People involved in the effort said outside advisers are identifying South American countries like Panama and places in Africa that may become partners in new asylum deals like the one struck by the Trump administration in 2020 with Guatemala allowing migrants from El Salvador and Honduras to seek asylum in their neighboring country.
The advisers are also working to get around constraints, without needing action from Congress, to deport immigrants who came into the country under Biden's presidency. At this time, they can't be legally deported, and their home countries are refusing to allow them to come back.
There are also questions about who would lead Trump's immigration push. Stephen Miller, who built much of Trump's immigration agenda during his first term is expected to return to the administration.
Other Trump advisers are discussing former Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Tom Homan as a "border czar, which would not require Senate confirmation, or to be named as Department of Homeland Security secretary," sources told The Wall Street Journal.
Others being mentioned for senior positions include former acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf; Mark Morgan, who had acted as commissioner of the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol; and Joe Edlow, who had served as acting director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Homan said he would consider a position as he agrees with Trump that a "historic deportation operation" is needed.
The America First Policy Institute and the Heritage Foundation are also reportedly involved in the discussions about Trump's immigration agenda, with other conversations taking place with Trump campaign officials and the former president, according to the Journal's sources.
Rob Law, director for homeland security and immigration at the America First Policy Institute, confirmed to the outlet that the group has been participating, but a Heritage Foundation spokeswoman didn't respond to the publication's requests for comment.