One of President Donald Trump's most polarizing talking points during the campaign was the deployment of a deportation force to remove people living in the country illegally.
An estimated 11 million people don't have legal permission to be in the United States. About 742,000 people who came to the country when they were minors were temporarily protected from deportation under a deferred action program introduced by President Barack Obama's administration. During his presidential campaign, Trump promised to eliminate that program, but expressed a more sympathetic tone during an interview with Time magazine that published after the Nov. 8 election.
While Trump's comments on deportations have often been vague, he has frequently declared his determination to deport millions, particularly criminals.
"We are going to triple the number of [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] deportation officers," Trump said during an immigration speech in Arizona in 2016. "Within ICE, I am going to create a new special Deportation Task Force, focused on identifying and removing quickly the most dangerous criminal illegal immigrants in America who have evaded justice.
WHY HE'S PROMISING IT
During the presidential campaign, Trump branded himself as a law-and-order candidate whose administration would strictly adhere to and follow the law.
Trump has emphasized his desire to remove immigrants in the country illegally who have been convicted of crimes, saying they've killed thousands of Americans.
"Nearly 180,000 illegal immigrants with criminal records, ordered deported from our country, are tonight roaming free to threaten peaceful citizens," Trump said July 2016 at the Republican National Convention.
WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN
The Department of Homeland Security would need to allocate its financial resources, appropriated by Congress, toward the funding for the additional ICE employees.
Trump's priority removals, especially for criminals, mirror the ones under Obama's administration.
People who are criminals, gang members, security threats, who have overstayed their visas, recent illegal arrivals and "those relying on public welfare or straining the safety net" are among Trump's enforcement priorities.
HOW MUCH WILL IT COST
Trump has not provided estimates of how much would be needed for ICE staffing increases and for the special deportation task force.
ICE receives about $6 billion a year and agency-wide employs about 20,000 people.
In fiscal year 2016, ICE removed 240,255 individuals, 58 percent of them were previously convicted of a crime, according to the agency.
WHAT'S STANDING IN HIS WAY
Trump as president would have discretion to set removal priorities and to decide how to best deploy the finite immigration enforcement resources appropriated by Congress, said Stephen Legomsky, professor emeritus at Washington University School of Law in St. Louis and a former chief counsel at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
"He would not need any further congressional action to change the existing priorities, and he could plausibly announce those priorities on his first day in office if he and his team are ready to do so," Legomsky said.
POSSIBLE TIMELINE
Trump's promise to triple ICE's deportation officers depends on funding from Congress. The president submits a budget to Congress in February. Based on the 1974 Congressional Budget Act, the deadline for the final adoption of the budget resolution is April 15, though final agreements may come later, notes a report from the Congressional Research Service. The upcoming fiscal year starts Oct. 1, 2017.