Donald Trump has said “we have no choice” as he confirmed plans to engage in mass deportations of illegal migrants.
The Republican president-elect vowed in the race to carry out the "largest deportation effort in American history."
Asked about the cost of his plan in an interview on NBC, he said, "It’s not a question of a price tag. It’s not - really, we have no choice.
“When people have killed and murdered, when drug lords have destroyed countries, and now they’re going to go back to those countries because they’re not staying here. There is no price tag."
Trump has credited pledging to crack down on immigration as a key reason for his seismic victory over Democrat Kamala Harris.
In a phone interview with the broadcaster, he said: "They want to have borders, and they like people coming in, but they have to come in with love for the country. They have to come in legally."
He added: “We obviously have to make the border strong and powerful and, and we have to — at the same time, we want people to come into our country,
“And you know, I’m not somebody that says, 'No, you can’t come in.' We want people to come in."
During the first Trump administration, migrants flocked to border cities where cartels preyed on them, kidnapping them, extorting their families for ransoms.
There were hundreds of arrivals every day, as well as thousands who were made to wait out the potentially years-long U.S. asylum application process in Mexico.
In 2023, US president Joe Biden introduced measures to ensure migrants don’t have to come to the southern border to schedule an appointment and can instead do it from their smartphones.
But Trump has pledged to end the programme, called CBP One, and also wants to deter people trafficking throughout his campaign of mass deportations.
Hardest hit would be Mexicans working in the United States without permission. There are some 11 million Mexicans living in the US about 5 million of whom don't have legal status
The announcement has sparked fear in those waiting for a CBP One appointment to come to the US.
Estefania Ramos of Guatemala spoke of her fears about Trump’s migration plans in a Ciudad Juarez shelter across from El Paso, Texas.
"We're trying to figure out what's going to happen to us," the 19-year-old told the Associated Press. "This wasn't the plan."
