Caitlin Dickerson

They're not really logistically feasible on a large scale.

They don't really make sense as a foreign policy initiative, but they're very intimidating.

That's a longstanding strategy on the right that kind of the most prominent anti-immigrant or restrictionist, even elected officials, but also activist groups have pushed for a really long time.

And I think it's just the degree to which the administration is willing to pursue this that is the change.

But yes, this idea of pushing for self-deportations has been popular for a really long time among people like Stephen Miller and

And it was just once a fringe idea, and now it isn't.

You know, in the past, the ways that states and municipalities would go about this was by doing things like not letting people without legal status get driver's licenses, not letting their kids get in-state tuition in schools.

Now it's very different.

It's those things plus you might be violently arrested, your relatives, even those who are

legal immigrants or citizens might be stopped and accosted based on how they look or what their accent is.

I mean, it's just so much more aggressive.

But absolutely, you know, the administration has been open about the fact that they're trying to encourage people to self-deport.

You know, they post memes and videos making fun of undocumented immigrants and basically telling them to get out of here or else.

So, yes, absolutely.

I think that they've also shown a willingness to

inflate the numbers and kind of claim victory and success before there's evidence to support it.

It really is all about messaging more than it is substance.

I mentioned they're claiming that 1.9 million people have self-deported.

Experts have looked into that number.

It seems to be based on