President-elect Donald Trump has confirmed he plans to use the military as part of a mass deportation program, sparking intense reactions from critics of the plan.
Trump reposted a note from the president of conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch, which said his incoming administration plans to “use military assets to reverse the Biden invasion through a mass deportation program.”
The incoming Trump administration, which will likely be led by immigration hardliners like South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, “Border Czar” Tom Homan and longtime Trump adviser Stephen Miller, says it will first focus on deporting criminals and those it deems national security threats.
Critics have raised a variety of issues with Trump’s plans, including use of the military, citing legal concerns, the potential for civil liberties violations and the impacts it could have on the economy.
“The idea of calling out the Army into the domestic confines of the United States seems uncalled for, and may be unconstitutional and illegal,” Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said.
Many groups have expressed concern of deporting individuals who live with U.S. citizens or immigrants with legal status, and have said there could be instances in which those citizens or immigrants could be improperly detained or even deported, according to reporting by The Guardian.
Victoria Carmona of the Kent College of Law also criticized the idea of using the military to carry out enforcement of immigration policies.
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“You can’t use the military for domestic enforcement,” she said. “I don’t think everyone should panic, but people need to be concerned about this rhetoric.”
Trump’s plan would likely involve declaration of a national emergency, with the president-elect utilizing National Guard troops from states in favor of his immigration policies.
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According to the most-recent estimates from Pew Research, there were approximately 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States as of 2022, and activists like Emma Lozano point to statistics that show the devastating consequences of removing that many individuals from the country’s labor force.
“These corporations and factories, they’re not going to want all of these people to go, because they’re not going to have any workers,” Lozano said.
From agriculture to caregiving, and to construction and hospitality, critics say the cascading impacts of any sort of mass deportation would result in soaring prices in numerous industries.
“People are tired of prices going up, but if you deport that many folks, you’re going to see inflation go through the roof,” Sam Toia of the Illinois Restaurant Association said.
