US President-elect Donald Trump has doubled down on his campaign promise of the mass deportation of illegal immigrants, saying the cost of doing so will not be a deterrent, Paralel.Az reports citing BBC.

In some of his first public remarks since winning the election, Trump said his priority upon taking office in January would be to make the border “strong and powerful".

"It’s not a question of a price tag. It’s not - really, we have no choice," Trump told NBC News.

"When people have killed and murdered, when drug lords have destroyed countries, and now they’re going to go back to those countries because they’re not staying here. There is no price tag."

While his campaign has given various answers as to how many could be removed, his vice-president-elect JD Vance had said they would start with one million.

In Thursday’s phone interview with NBC, Trump partially credited his message on immigration as a reason he won the race.

"They want to have borders, and they like people coming in, but they have to come in with love for the country," he said. "They have to come in legally."

Experts say there are significant legal and practical challenges to expelling so many people at once.

Immigration advocates have also warned that the human cost of deportations would be significant, with families torn apart and raids taking place in communities and workplaces across the US.