Donald Trump has vowed to begin his mass deportations program on his first day in office, and confirmed early Monday morning he plans to declare a “national emergency” and use “military assets” to achieve his goal of removing “millions” of undocumented immigrants from the United States.

“On day one, I will launch the largest deportation program in American history to get the criminals out,” Trump told supporters during his infamous Madison Square Garden rally last month.

But deporting millions is not the president-elect’s only anti-immigration goal.

Trump’s incoming White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy, Stephen Miller, who is the architect of the “zero tolerance” family separation program in his first term, has bigger plans.

READ MORE: Trump Defiant After Lawyer Says His Clients Told Ethics Committee Matt Gaetz Paid for Sex

Miller, according The New York Times, has said that “military funds would be used to build ‘vast holding facilities that would function as staging centers’ for immigrants as their cases progressed and they waited to be flown to other countries.”

The U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS) would be in charge of the facilities, which The Times has called “camps.”

“The Trump team believes that such camps could enable the government to accelerate deportations of undocumented people who fight their expulsion from the country. The idea is that more people would voluntarily accept removal instead of pursuing a long-shot effort to remain in the country if they had to stay locked up in the interim,” according to The Times.

That concept aligns with what The Times in July described as “The Right-Wing Dream of ‘Self-Deportation’.”

“Trump has said he would build ‘vast holding facilities’ — detention camps — to lock people up as their cases progress; end birthright citizenship, even though the Constitution protects it; and bring back a version of the travel ban from his first term, which barred visitors from several mostly Muslim countries. Another Trump promise, mass deportations, hasn’t been tried since the 1950s; now, polls show majority support for it, including among Latinos,” The Times had reported over the summer.

“Self-deportation,” or, “provoking immigrants to leave of their own volition,” as The Times described it, “has gone out of fashion but the idea continues to lurk.”

“This time, instead of directly pressuring undocumented adults to flee, some immigration opponents are threatening access to school for their children. It’s a nuclear option — requiring the reversal of a Supreme Court ruling that has been a linchpin of educational rights for four decades — that some of Trump’s allies on the right are quietly building support for.”

READ MORE: ‘Isn’t Going to Bring Audience Back’: Morning Joe’s Mar-a-Lago Meet a Ratings Hail Mary?

The Times reports there are 600,000 undocumented children in the U.S., and “another 4.5 million have a parent who is here illegally.”

Tom Homan, Trump’s incoming “border czar,” has said that rather than breaking up families, “families could be deported together,” presumably even if some members are U.S. citizens:

Donald Trump named Tom Homan his “border czar” for deportations.

In a recent 60 Minutes interview, the former ICE director supported deporting U.S.-born children of undocumented immigrants, stating, “Families can be deported together.”pic.twitter.com/fQCj2NauKc

— The Intellectualist (@highbrow_nobrow) November 11, 2024

Trump’s team “also plans to expand a form of due-process-free expulsions known as expedited removal, which is currently used near the border for recent arrivals, to people living across the interior of the country who cannot prove they have been in the United States for more than two years.”

And in another example of the Trump team appearing to want to make life in the United States unbearable for the undocumented, The Times reported Monday the Trump administration plans to “stop issuing citizenship-affirming documents, like passports and Social Security cards, to infants born on domestic soil to undocumented migrant parents in a bid to end birthright citizenship.”

Constitutional law professor and political scientist Anthony Michael Kreis last week said, “Birthright citizenship is a foundational concept in American constitutional law. It is a betrayal of the 14th Amendment to suggest otherwise or that it can be discarded with ease. We settled any doubt about this in Wong Kim Ark in 1898. We should not budge one solitary inch.”

But Trump himself has declared, “going forward, the future children of illegal aliens will not receive automatic U.S. citizenship.”

That would, as Professor Kreis notes, directly contradicts the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which also bans Americans who “have engaged in insurrection” from holding office.

Watch the video above or at this link.

RELATED: GOP Senator Says Gaetz Investigation Report Can Be Subpoenaed After Johnson Tries to Block

The Trump transition team is doubling down in defiance, proclaiming the President-elect’s nominee for Attorney General will become the nation’s next top law enforcement officer, even after an attorney who represents two women says his clients told the House Ethics Committee that then-Congressman Matt Gaetz paid them for sex, and one says she saw the Florida Republican having sex with a minor at a house party.

“She testified [that] in July of 2017, at this house party, she was walking out to the pool area, and she looked to her right, and she saw Rep. Gaetz having sex with her friend, who was 17,” Florida attorney Joel Leppard told ABC News (video below).

“Just to be clear, both of your clients testified that they were paid by Rep. Gaetz to have sex?” ABC News’ Juju Chang asked Leppard.

“That’s correct,” Leppard replied.

READ MORE: ‘Isn’t Going to Bring Audience Back’: Morning Joe’s Mar-a-Lago Meet a Ratings Hail Mary?

“The House was very clear about that and went through each. They essentially put the Venmo payments on the screen and asked about them. And my clients repeatedly testified, ‘What was this payment for?’ ‘That was for sex,'” Leppard said.

ABC News’ Jay O’Brien on-air on Monday added, “We also know this attorney says that his clients told the House committee that they witnessed parties, that there were illicit drugs allegedly there, and then, of course, that they witnessed those alleged sexual encounters that Matt Gaetz has denied.”

The Trump team is not backing down.

“Matt Gaetz will be the next Attorney General. He’s the right man for the job and will end the weaponization of our justice system,” Trump transition spokesperson Alex Pfeiffer told ABC News in response to the latest news. “These are baseless allegations intended to derail the second Trump administration. The Biden Justice Department investigated Gaetz for years and cleared him of wrongdoing. The only people who went to prison over these allegations were those lying about Matt Gaetz.”

The U.S. Dept. of Justice did not “clear” Congressman Gaetz, it declined to bring any charges.

Gaetz has denied all allegations.

Last week Leppard called for the House Ethics Committee to release the report on its years-long investigation into the Florida Republican congressman who resigned immediately after President-elect Trump named him as his Dept. of Justice nominee. In general, the House Ethics Committee will not release a report if the subject is no longer a member of Congress.

“As the Senate considers former Rep. Gaetz’s nomination for attorney general, several questions demand answers,” Leppard said, ABC News reports. “What if multiple credible witnesses provided evidence of behavior that would constitute serious criminal violations?”

Another attorney, John Clune, who “represents the former minor at the center of the probe,” the one with whom Gaetz allegedly had sex with when she was a minor, “called for the release of the Ethics Committee’s report on Thursday,” ABC added.

As for Gaetz’s nomination, ABC News noted, “President-elect Trump has repeatedly urged GOP leadership to bypass the traditional confirmation process through recess appointments, whereby Trump could appoint his cabinet while Congress is out of session.”

The House Ethics Committee has said it was investigating allegations that Gaetz “may have engaged in sexual misconduct and/or illicit drug use, shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, misused state identification records, converted campaign funds to personal use, and/or accepted a bribe, improper gratuity, or impermissible gift, in violation of House Rules, laws, or other standards of conduct.”

READ MORE: Trump: Prepared to Declare ‘National Emergency,’ Use Military for ‘Mass Deportations’

It is widely believed the Committee also investigated allegations Gaetz may have engaged in sex trafficking of a minor and sex with a minor.

On his website, Leppard last year wrote:

“’Statutory rape’ is a term referring to sexual activity between an adult and a minor below the legal age of consent. But what defines this age?”

“In Florida, the age of consent is 18. So, any sexual engagement with someone under 18 by an individual 18 or older is considered statutory rape, even if the minor consented.”

He also referred to Florida’s “Romeo & Juliet” law, which “is designed for those close to age, emphasizing genuine youthful relationships.” It does not appear Gaetz would have been protected by that law given he was older than 24 at the time of the alleged act.

Watch the video below or at this link.

BREAKING: An attorney representing two women who testified before the House Ethics Committee says former Rep. Matt Gaetz paid both of his adult clients for sex.

Gaetz is President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general.https://t.co/tv4eWTjKSQ pic.twitter.com/ipvC7WKNmg

— ABC News Live (@ABCNewsLive) November 18, 2024

RELATED: GOP Senator Says Gaetz Investigation Report Can Be Subpoenaed After Johnson Tries to Block

The hosts of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” are under fire after announcing Monday they visited President-elect Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Friday, telling viewers it’s “time to do something different,” and that “threatening” the now-President-elect with prison (they did not name any of his crimes, alleged or convicted,) hasn’t worked. Some critics have suggested the visit by Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski was an effort to shore up the network’s sagging ratings, while others blasted the attempt as “access” journalism.

Jeff Jarvis, the longtime journalism expert and CUNY professor (now retired) called the couple’s move a “betrayal of their colleagues, democracy, and us all. It is a disgusting show of obeisance in advance.” (Obeisance is generally understood to mean bow down, or offer deferential respect.)

Political commentator Craig Crawford responded, “Autocrat scholars call this Anticipatory Obedience.”

Jarvis appeared to sum up the Mar-a-Lago meeting as an effort to gain “access.”

“Oh, Lord. Joe and Mika went to Mar-a-lago. ‘What we did agree on,’ Mika said, ‘was to restart communications.’ Access. ‘He seemed interested in finding common ground with Democrats.’ Credulity. They revert to their mean.”

READ MORE: Trump: Prepared to Declare ‘National Emergency,’ Use Military for ‘Mass Deportations’

Jarvis also blasted Scarborough and Brzezinski for not having on their Monday morning panel any pundit who would push back against them: “Of course, there is no one on the panel to ask, ‘How the fuck could you?’ as we all are at home.”

He also declared the couple created “The Scarborough doctrine,” which he described as, “You can’t root against the president of the United States without rooting against America.”

Scarborough, Jarvis declared, “won’t root against authoritarianism, racism, misogyny (against his own wife), fascism. He won’t root for the people and our Constitution. There you have it.”

“Was there any journalism to come out of this?” Jarvis asked. “No. The meeting was ‘on background.’ Joe assures they asked for an interview. Of course, they did: giving Trump just what he wants–airtime and attention. This is how they helped get him elected in the first place.”

“Right after that pathetic display, Mika reads headlines about attacks on LGBTQ people and Trump drawing up a list of military officers to court martial and there is no nod to the irony. Oh, yes, let’s get along–with the destruction of the nation.”

Nodding to a number of top MSNBC hosts, Jarvis remarked, “I try to envision Joy Reid, @maddow, @Lawrence, @NicolleDWallace, @chrislhayes, alongside frequent guests @esglaude, @MollyJongFast, and others watching @JoeNBC & @morningmika’s betrayal this morning. Did they throw coffee at their TVs or merely shake their heads, knowingly?”

MSNBC host, and legal contributor and correspondent Katie Phang, without naming names, posted on social media: “Normalizing Trump is a bad idea. Period.”

Scarborough and Brzezinski told viewers that at Mar-a-Lago, “we talked about a lot of issues, including abortion, mass deportation, threats of political retribution against political opponents, and media outlets.”

And while they “didn’t see eye to eye on a lot of issues, and we told him so,” they “did agree” to “restart communications.”

They described Trump as “cheerful,” and “upbeat,” claiming that “he seemed interested in finding common ground with Democrats on some of the most divisive issues.”

READ MORE: GOP Senator Says Gaetz Investigation Report Can Be Subpoenaed After Johnson Tries to Block

“And for those asking why we would go speak to the president-elect during such fraught times, especially between us, I guess I would ask back: why wouldn’t we?”

“Five years of political warfare has deeply divided Washington and the country,” they said, not blaming Trump.

“What also does not work is threatening political opponents with arrest, harassment and even jail. That is a failed path,” they said—appearing to blame Democrats for wanting allowing the justice system and the rule of law to rule the day, while ignoring that Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened his political opponents with arrest, harassment and even jail.

“Recent history has proven that impeachments and trials turned those on trial into political martyrs and only make them more popular with the American people, just ask Bill Clinton and Donald Trump.”

“We’re not here to defend our normalize Donald Trump,” they concluded. “We’re here to report on him.”

Democratic strategist Max Burns lamented, “Don’t need to crack down on the free press when the free press will crack down on itself.”

Philadelphia Inquirer national opinion columnist Will Bunch added: “‘Morning Joe’ capitulation is another of my worst fears about life under Trump 47 – that those of us who plan to keep writing against Trump’s autocratic ways are going to be marginalized as ‘dead enders’ who aren’t getting with the program, which will make it easier to shut us up.”

Some have suggested the couple went to Mar-a-Lago to help the network’s ratings.

Puck’s Dylan Byers had shared some dismal statistics last week:

NEW: On Tuesday, one week after the election, CNN and MSNBC drew their lowest 25-54 demo ratings in nearly a quarter of a century….

CNN lowest since June 27, 2000
MSNBC lowest since August 7, 2001*

*excluding last year’s July 4 holiday

— Dylan Byers (@DylanByers) November 14, 2024

“CNN, MSNBC ratings plummeted after elections,” noted SiriusXM host Michelangelo Signorile. He warned, “Morning Joe bowing to Trump, & the rest doing finger-pointing & both sides coverage, isn’t going to bring audience back.”

Similarly, Mediaite editor-in-chief Aidan McLaughlin observed, “The thing about this is that it comes as MSNBC’s audience has collapsed. Imagine if a Fox News host announced they met privately with Biden when the network saw its audience flee after the 2020 election?”

Indeed, some on social media suggested they may be done with “Morning Joe.”

Political podcaster and progressive commentator JoJoFromJerz, who has nearly one million followers on X, offered up a profanity-laced response that effectively urged MSNBC to take “Morning Joe” off the air.

Media critic Susan Bordson explained:

“There are a few news shows I keep as standard in my dvr settings in case I want to check out segments or audit them later. @Morning_Joe was one of them. Today, I eliminated it from my @MSNBC recording list. Ethical news commentary does not require ACCESS practices.”

Podcaster Keith Olbermann, a former MSNBC host, also blasted Scarborough, writing: “Why is anybody surprised? Since 1998 I’ve said Scarborough was the worst person I’d ever encountered in this business. He proves me right, year after year. Today it has become Vichy MSNBC.”

“Let’s face it,” wrote former editor John McIntyre. “Morning Joe and Mika were self-important and tedious. Now we know that they are also craven, and there is no need to give them our attention.”

Watch the videos below or at this link.

Joe and Mika went to Mar a Lago to talk with Trump over the weekend. First face-to-face meeting in seven years. “We didn’t see eye-to-eye on a lot of issues and we told him so,” @JoeNBC says. “What we did agree on – was to restart communications,” @morningmika says. pic.twitter.com/lyWZWK4CwX

— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) November 18, 2024

Here’s part two of @Morning_Joe‘s prepared remarks about the Trump meeting. “Don’t be mistaken. We are not here to defend or normalize Donald Trump,” @JoeNBC says. “We are here to report on him” and provide insights in “these deeply unsettling times.” pic.twitter.com/DTplzTSKhs

— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) November 18, 2024

READ MORE: Backlash as Trump Skips FBI Background Checks — One Nominee Called ‘Likely Russian Asset’