TEXAS has offered 1,402 acres to US president-elect Trump to be used for constructing infrastructure to facilitate mass deportation of illegal immigrants. The former president will take oath on January 20.
In a letter to Trump, Dawn Buckingham -- commissioner of the Texas General Land Office -- said, "I am writing to formally offer 1,402 acres of land in Starr County, Texas, to be used to construct deportation facilities."
Mass deportation of illegal immigrants was one of the major election promises of Trump.
After his victory, the president-elect has expressed determination to fulfil the promise by remove illegal immigrants from the US.
The number of illegal immigrants in the country is said to be more than 11 million, which also includes several hundreds of thousand of Indians. The outgoing Joe Biden administration has been removing such Indian nationals through chartered flights.
Trump, however, has not made public details of the deportation plan.
In his letter, Buckingham wrote that his office was fully prepared to enter into an agreement with the Department of Homeland Security, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or the US Border Patrol to allow a facility to be built for the processing, detention and coordination of the largest deportation of "violent criminals" in the nation's history.
"What I care about is that we have safe communities and there is no doubt that we are losing too many of our children to these violent criminals that are coming across the border," Buckingham told Fox News Digital.
"I am 100 per cent on board with the Trump administration's pledge to get these criminals out of our country and we are more than happy to offer our resources to facilitate those deportations of these violent criminals."
The proposed area on offer is a farmland and easy to build on, the official said.
"We could very easily put a detention centre there, a holding place as we get these criminals out of our country. It's accessible to international airports as well as a major crossing over the river. And so we're just happy to get help, do anything we can to get these violent criminals off of our soil," the official added.
(PTI)
During the hearing, Clifford denied all the charges except for the rape charge, which was added to the indictment at the session. (Photo: Hertfordshire Police /Handout via REUTERS)
Man pleads not guilty to murder of BBC presenter's family
A 26-year-old man has pleaded not guilty to charges of murdering the wife and two daughters of BBC sports commentator John Hunt in a crossbow and knife attack.
Kyle Clifford, who also faces charges of rape, appeared via video link at Cambridge Crown Court on Thursday.
Clifford, arrested in July after a manhunt, is charged with three counts of murder, one count each of rape and false imprisonment, and two counts of possessing offensive weapons – a 10-inch knife and a crossbow.
During the hearing, Clifford denied all the charges except for the rape charge, which was added to the indictment at the session.
He is expected to enter a plea for that charge at a later date.
The victims were Carol Hunt, 61, wife of horseracing commentator John Hunt, and their daughters Louise, 25, and Hannah, 28.
An earlier hearing revealed that Louise had been found tied up and that both she and her sister had been shot with a crossbow, while their mother had been stabbed with a knife.
The fatal attack occurred at the family’s home in Bushey, a commuter town near Watford, northwest of London.
(With inputs from AFP)