US President Donald Trump yesterday was set to take a first step toward enacting his pledge to “build a wall” on the Mexican border as he rolls out a series of immigration-related decrees.
The White House said that Trump would make the announcements in a visit to the US Department of Homeland Security in the afternoon.
“Big day planned on NATIONAL SECURITY tomorrow. Among many other things, we will build the wall!” Trump tweeted late on Tuesday.
Trump was also to sign a measure targeting “sanctuary” cities where local officials refuse to help round up people for deportation, the Washington Post reported.
CNN said he also plans to expand the number of customs and border agents.
Stemming immigration was a central plank of Trump’s election campaign and his signature policy was to build a wall across the 3,200km border between the US and Mexico.
Some of the border is already fenced, but Trump says a wall is needed to stop illegal immigrants entering from Latin America.
Trump has also floated the idea of a ban on Muslims coming to the US.
Trump this week is set to slash the number of refugees allowed to resettle in the US, according to the New York Times, particularly from Syria and other Muslim-majority countries.
About 4.8 million Syrians have fled to neighboring countries alone, according to the UN
An estimated 18,000 Syrians have fled to the US.
Former officials said Trump could slow the process down by moving resources away from processing visa requests, or cut migrant quotas and programs.
The orders would restrict immigration and access to the US for refugees and visa holders from Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, the Washington Post said.
Citizens from those countries already face large obstacles in obtaining US visas.
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