DIPLOMACY
Trump launches sweeping border crackdown, mass deportation push
President Donald Trump on Monday kicked off his sweeping immigration crackdown, tasking the U.S. military with aiding border security, issuing a broad ban on asylum and taking steps to restrict citizenship for children born on U.S. soil.
Declaring illegal immigration a national emergency, Trump ordered the Pentagon to provide support for border wall construction, detention space, and migrant transportation and empowered the secretary of Defense to send troops to the border as needed.
Trump called for his administration to reinstate his “remain in Mexico” program, which forced non-Mexican migrants to wait in Mexico for the resolution of their U.S. cases.
Asylum seekers with appointments made through the U.S. Customs and Border Protection CBP One application scheduled for the morning of January 20, the final asylum appointment in Piedras Negras before the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, wait at the entrance of the Camino Real International Bridge in Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico, January 20, 2025. REUTERS/Cheney Orr
Shortly after the inauguration, U.S. border authorities said they had shut down outgoing President Joe Biden’s CBP One entry program, which had allowed hundreds of thousands of migrants to enter the U.S. legally by scheduling an appointment on an app. Existing appointments were cancelled, leaving migrants stunned and unsure of what to do.
Trump, a Republican, recaptured the White House after promising to intensify border security and deport record numbers of migrants. Trump criticized Biden for high levels of illegal immigration during the Democrat’s presidency, but as Biden toughened his policies last year and Mexico stepped up enforcement, the number of migrants caught crossing illegally fell dramatically.
Republicans say large-scale deportations are necessary after millions of immigrants crossed illegally during Biden’s presidency. There were roughly 11 million immigrants in the U.S. illegally or with a temporary status at the start of 2022, according to a U.S. government estimate, a figure that some analysts now place at 13 million to 14 million.
“As commander-in-chief, I have no higher responsibility than to defend our country from threats and invasions, and that is exactly what I am going to do,” Trump said in his inaugural address.
Trump’s critics and immigrant advocates say mass deportations could disrupt businesses, split families and cost U.S. taxpayers billions of dollars.
The American Civil Liberties Union said in a federal court filing on Monday that Trump’s decision to end the CBP One program removed the only avenue to asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border, an opening salvo by the civil rights group to fight Trump’s agenda in court.
Americans have grown less welcoming toward immigrants without legal status since Trump’s first presidency, but remain wary of harsh measures such as using detention camps, a Reuters/Ipsos poll in December found.
BIDEN ENTRY PROGRAM SHUT DOWN
In several Mexican border cities, migrants saw their appointments on Biden’s CBP One app canceled just after Trump took office. Some 280,000 people had been logging into the app daily to secure an appointment as of Jan. 7.
Migrants waiting in Ciudad Juarez scrambled to find short-term rentals, buy bus tickets and call family members back home.
Daynna del Valle, a 40-year-old Venezuelan, spent eight months in Mexico waiting for an appointment that would have arrived on Tuesday. In that time, she worked at a nail salon but earned so little that she barely managed to send any money back to her mother in Colombia, a cancer survivor who needed medical treatment for her blood pressure.
“I’m lost,” she said. “I don’t know what to do, where to go.”
Denia Mendez, a Honduran sitting in the courtyard of a migrant shelter in Piedras Negras – across from Eagle Pass, Texas – opened her email inbox 30 minutes after Trump became president. She stared at an email for several minutes, reading it over and over, before her eyes welled up.
“They canceled my appointment,” she said. Several other migrants, who just minutes ago were laughing as they fed potato chips to pigeons, huddled around her phone, their faces suddenly grave.
Mendez’s 15-year-old daughter Sofia kept trying to get into the CBP One app.
“They’re not going to let you into the app, baby,” her mother told her softly.
BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP TARGETED
In his order focused on so-called “birthright citizenship Trump called on U.S. agencies to refuse to recognize the citizenship of U.S.-born children without at least one U.S. citizen or permanent resident parent, applying the restrictions in 30 days.
His order prompted the swift filing of a lawsuit in federal court in New Hampshire by the ACLU and other groups, who argued that Trump’s order violated the right for anyone born in the United States to be considered a citizen enshrined in the Citizenship Clause of the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment.
“Denying citizenship to U.S.-born children is not only unconstitutional — it’s also a reckless and ruthless repudiation of American values,” Anthony Romero, the ACLU’s executive director, said in a statement.
In other orders, Trump suspended U.S. refugee resettlement for at least three months and ordered a review of security to see if travelers from certain nations should be subject to a travel ban.
The Republican president rolled back existing guidance for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers that prioritized serious criminals and broadened the scope of their enforcement, including targeting migrants with final deportation orders, a move that could help ramp up removals.
The nascent Trump administration took steps to gain control of the U.S. Justice Department immigration courts, firing four top immigration court officials, three sources familiar with the matter said.
Trump also kicked off a process to designate criminal cartels as foreign terrorist organizations and to utilize a 1798 law known as the Alien Enemies Act against foreign gang members.
-Reuters
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- Summary
- Iranian media says five players secretly left the hotel
- Australian media said players were seeking government help after ‘breaking free’
- Trump says Albanese is doing very good job in ‘delicate situation’
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday he had spoken to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese about the Iranian women’s soccer team after reports that five players had sought asylum in Australia.
Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency said five players in Australia for the Asian Cup secretly left the team hotel with Australian police, and media reports said they were seeking Australian government assistance after “breaking free”.
People attempt to block a bus transporting Iranian players following the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Group A match between Iran and the Philippines at Gold Coast Stadium on the Gold Coast, Australia, March 8, 2026. AAP/via REUTERS
After initially posting on social media that Australia was “making a terrible humanitarian mistake” by allowing the team to be sent back home, Trump said in a later post that he had spoken to Albanese and that the Australian leader was “doing a very good job having to do with this rather delicate situation”.
Trump said five members of the Iran squad “have already been taken care of, and the rest are on their way”.
“Some, however, feel they must go back because they are worried about the safety of their families, including threats to those family members if they don’t return,” he said.
Australia’s SBS News said five players from the Iranian women’s team were now under the protection of the Australian Federal Police, seeking assistance from the government. It said government sources had confirmed the reports, adding that Australia’s Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke had flown to Brisbane to meet with the women.
The Iranians’ campaign in the Australian-hosted Asian Cup tournament started just as the U.S. and Israel launched air strikes on Iran, killing the Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. They were eliminated on Sunday after losing 2-0 to the Philippines.
In his earlier post, Trump said members of the team would “likely be killed” if forced to return to Iran. “The U.S. will take them if you won’t, ” he added.
Australia’s embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Trump’s remarks.
FIFPRO VOICES CONCERNS
Soccer’s global players’ union FIFPRO said on Monday there were serious concerns for the welfare of the Iranian team after being labelled for refusing to sing their national anthem before a game.
The players’ decision to stand in silence during Iran’s anthem before their first match against South Korea was labelled by a commentator on Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting as the “pinnacle of dishonour”.
Iranian media quoted Farideh Shojaei, vice president for women’s affairs at the Iranian Football Federation, as saying the team had left the hotel through the back door with the police.
“We have contacted the embassy, the football federation, the foreign ministry and anywhere possible to see what will happen,” she said. “We have even spoken with the families of these five players.”
Iranian media named the players as Zahra Sarbali, Mona Hamoudi, Zahra Ghanbari, Fatemeh Pasandideh and Atefeh Ramazani-Zadeh.
It said other team members were still in Australia and quoted Shojaei as saying the squad had planned to return to Iran via Dubai, but the United Arab Emirates had not allowed them to do so.
It said efforts were now expected to be made for the team to return via Malaysia and Turkey.
The Iranian team sang their national anthem and saluted before their second match against Australia, sparking fears among human rights campaigners that the women had been coerced by government minders.
When asked whether Australia would grant the players asylum, Matt Thistlethwaite, the assistant minister for foreign affairs and trade, said the government could not go into individual circumstances for privacy reasons.
-Reuters
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Morocco’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Living Abroad, Nasser Bourita, has reaffirmed that the security and stability of Gulf Arab states are inseparable from Morocco’s own national security.
Speaking during an extraordinary ministerial meeting of the League of Arab States held on Sunday to discuss Iran’s attacks on Arab states, Bourita stressed that Morocco views any threat to Gulf countries as a direct threat to itself.
“What harms you harms us, and what affects us affects you,” Bourita said, reiterating Morocco’s long-standing commitment to the security of Gulf nations.
The meeting, attended remotely by the Moroccan minister, was convened to address what participants described as Iran’s aggression against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Arab countries.
Bourita noted that Morocco’s position reflects the policy consistently articulated by King Mohammed VI, who has repeatedly emphasised solidarity with Gulf partners. He revealed that the Moroccan monarch recently held telephone conversations with leaders of Gulf states to express Morocco’s support for their sovereignty, security and territorial integrity.
The minister also recalled the king’s remarks during the Moroccan-Gulf Summit on April 20, 2016, where Mohammed VI declared that defending shared security among Arab nations is “not only a common duty but an indivisible one.”
During the emergency session, Bourita strongly condemned what he described as “brutal Iranian attacks” on Arab countries, calling them a blatant violation of their sovereignty and a serious threat to regional stability. Morocco, he said, stands in full solidarity with the affected states and supports any legitimate measures they deem necessary to safeguard their citizens and territories.
He further accused the Iranian regime of pursuing destabilizing policies across the region, alleging that Tehran seeks to create and support militias and groups loyal to it in order to undermine the stability and interests of neighboring countries.
Bourita urged Arab nations to strengthen unity and collective action through the League of Arab States as the most effective means of protecting regional security and safeguarding national sovereignty.
Concluding his remarks, the Moroccan foreign minister called for a unified Arab stance against actions that threaten regional stability and demanded the immediate cessation of Iranian attacks, saying such a move would open the door for diplomacy, dialogue and de-escalation in the region.
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Mohammed VI has reaffirmed Morocco’s “full support and solidarity” with several Arab Gulf states following what he described as “blatant attacks” on their sovereignty and territorial integrity.
In a statement issued Saturday by the Royal Cabinet, the Moroccan monarch disclosed that he held separate telephone conversations with key Gulf leaders, including Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates; Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa; Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia; and Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
According to the Royal Cabinet, King Mohammed VI strongly condemned the attacks targeting the sovereignty of the “brotherly states” and reiterated Morocco’s readiness to stand by them in any legitimate measures they consider necessary to safeguard their security and ensure the safety of their citizens.
The statement underscored the “deep fraternal ties and enduring solidarity” binding Morocco to the Gulf nations, stressing that the security and stability of the Arab Gulf region are inseparable from Morocco’s own national security.
“Any infringement upon their integrity constitutes a serious and unacceptable aggression and a direct threat to regional stability,” the statement read.
Morocco has long maintained close political, economic and security ties with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, with cooperation spanning investment, energy, defence and diplomatic coordination on regional issues.
Saturday’s high-level consultations signal Rabat’s intention to reinforce those alliances at a time of heightened regional tensions, while affirming its position that threats to Gulf states are viewed as threats to broader Arab and regional stability.
The Royal Cabinet did not provide further details on the nature of the attacks referenced in the conversations, but the statement reflects Morocco’s consistent diplomatic posture of collective Arab solidarity in times of crisis.
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