Trump's sweeping changes could be an uphill climb, reckon experts

Washington (The Uttam Hindu): US President-elect Donald Trump's planned sweeping changes could be an uphill climb, experts have said. "Trump will not be able to deport as many people as he says because of the logistical difficulties," Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Darrell West told Xinhua news agency, referring to Trump's irregular migrant deportation plan, which tops his policy list outlined in an interview on Sunday with NBC's 'Meet the Press.'

"It will be hard for him to identify criminals and there will have to be immigration court proceedings to move people out of the country," West said. "Some nations may not accept the arrivals and in a number of places, state and local officials will not cooperate with federal immigration agents. It will be messy and hard to implement in a humane manner," West said.

"This is a policy that is certain to result in mistaken identifications, attempts to deport citizens, violence all around, and also efforts from elected officials in blue states and cities to prevent their police forces, National Guard units, and so on from being used for this," Christopher Galdieri, a political science professor at Saint Anselm College in the northeastern state of New Hampshire, Xinhua news agency reported. "My guess is that there will be a lot of sound and fury but few actual deportations, but only time will tell," Galdieri said.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, William Courtney, a retired US ambassador and adjunct senior fellow at the RAND Corporation, told Xinhua: "There are no indications yet that Russia and Ukraine might... be willing to make the concessions required to achieve a political settlement." "Agreeing on a ceasefire-in-place might be more achievable, even for this but odds may be long. Ukrainians and Russians seem determined to protect the territory that each controls," Courtney said. "Since his election, Trump has taken a more careful course, and he has named hawkish Republicans for Secretary of State and National Security Advisor. This does not suggest that Trump is keen to achieve peace at any price," Courtney further said.

"Trump might convene meetings of the two parties along with other interested states. US could offer generous financial aid to encourage Russia and Ukraine to find common ground," Courtney added. "His instincts about the war are good, I think, but the question is, will he have the follow-through and develop the strategy to see it to a success? None of us can know the answer to that yet," Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Michael O'Hanlon told Xinhua.