WASHINGTON

Republican presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday plans to seize the assets of criminal gangs and drug cartels in the US if he is reelected in the forthcoming Nov. 5 vote.

Speaking at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, Trump also criticized his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, blaming her and the Biden administration for the increase in illegal immigration at the country’s southern border.

"Today, I’m announcing for the first time under my administration we will seizing the assets of the criminal gangs and drug cartels," said Trump.

"And we will use those assets to create a compensation fund to provide restitution for the victims of migrant crime. The government will help with the restitution," he added.

Trump went on to express concerns about the number of migrants arriving in the US from various regions, including South America, the Middle East, Asia, Europe, and Africa.

"Tremendous numbers of people are coming out of Africa, and they're coming from all over the world. They're dumping them at our border, pushing them across the line and say, 'Don't ever come back. If you come back, we're going to kill you.' And we're stuck with them, but we're not going to be stuck with them for long," said Trump.

"Anyone who knowingly sets loose these monsters into our country has absolutely no right to be running for office, let alone the office of president," he added.

The former president has intensified his criticism of the Biden-Harris administration’s handling of illegal immigration, vowing that he will carry out the largest deportation of migrants in the US history when he becomes the president.

*Michael Hernandez contributed to the story