US President Donald Trump escalated his hardline immigration rhetoric Sunday, claiming the US has been "invaded" by 21 million undocumented immigrants and warning that the nation risks becoming a "CRIME RIDDEN THIRD WORLD NATION" if deportations are not carried out.

"Our Country has been INVADED by 21,000,000 Illegal Aliens, many of whom are Murderers and Criminals of the Highest Order," Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.

"If we aren?t allowed to remove them because of a radicalized and incompetent Court System, the USA will quickly and violently become a CRIME RIDDEN THIRD WORLD NATION, NEVER TO SEE GREATNESS AGAIN."

He further urged his legal team to raise this assertion before the US Supreme Court:

"Our lawyers should state this FACT when going before the United States Supreme Court, and all other courts."

?I was elected in a landslide, won ALL SEVEN SWING STATES, 312 Electoral College Votes, Won 2750 to 525 Districts, and easily won the Popular Vote. I must be allowed to do the job that I was elected to do. If not, we won?t have a Country anymore,? he added.

'Courts are at war'

The statement comes days after Trump?s senior adviser Stephen Miller revealed that the campaign is considering the suspension of habeas corpus?a fundamental legal safeguard against arbitrary detention?to expedite deportations.

"The Constitution is clear...the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus could be suspended in time of invasion," Miller said Friday, speaking to reporters at the White House.

"That's an option we're actively looking at. A lot of it depends on whether the courts do the right thing or not."

Habeas corpus, protected by Article I, Section 9 of the US Constitution, ensures detainees can challenge the legality of their detention before a court. It shall not be suspended ?unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.?

Trump and Miller are using the term "invasion" to frame the current influx of migrants?both undocumented and visa-holding?as grounds to bypass due process.

"The courts aren't just at war with the executive branch. The courts are at war, these radical, rogue judges, with the legislative branch of politics," Miller added.

The administration has suffered repeated legal defeats in efforts to deport migrants, including international students Rumeysa Ozturk and Mahmoud Khalil, who successfully used habeas corpus to challenge removal orders tied to past pro-Palestinian speech.

No independent verification exists for Trump?s figure of 21 million undocumented migrants.

Most estimates place the number closer to 10 million to 11 million. (Anadolu Agency)

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