By Diana George
During a visit to a migrant detention centre in Florida on Tuesday, US President Donald Trump made a startling statement, suggesting that even American-born citizens who commit violent crimes should be deported. “They’re not new to our country. They’re old to our country. Many of them were born in our country,” Trump said, referring to individuals involved in serious assaults such as attacking others with baseball bats. The former president went further, describing his administration’s potential next step. “I think we ought to get them the hell out of here, too, if you want to know the truth. So maybe that will be the next job,” he said. Highlighting incidents in New York City, Trump implied that recent violent episodes weren’t accidental. “Even if we forget about them, we’ve had some very bad accidents in New York. They were not accidents,” he said. Trump’s remarks came shortly after the US Justice Department issued a memo outlining the conditions under which citizenship could be revoked. The document, released last month, specifies that individuals found guilty of serious offenses such as war crimes, human rights abuses, and terrorism may face denaturalisation. “The citizenship of individuals will be revoked if they engage in the commission of war crimes, extrajudicial killings, or other serious human rights abuses; to remove naturalised criminals, gang members, or, indeed, any individuals convicted of crimes who pose an ongoing threat to the United States; and to prevent convicted terrorists from returning to US soil or traveling internationally on a US passport,” the DOJ memo stated. Trump’s comments appear to go even further than the DOJ’s current framework, advocating for the removal of US citizens, including those born in the country, if they are found guilty of severe violence. Get Latest News Live on Times Now along with Breaking News and Top Headlines from US News and around the World.