President Donald Trump’s administration is considering mobilizing as many as 100,000 National Guard troops to round up unauthorized immigrants, according to The Associated Press.
A draft memo obtained by The Associated Press outlines a Trump administration proposal under consideration to mobilize as many as 100,000 National Guard troops to round up unauthorized immigrants. Millions of those who would be affected in 11 states live nowhere near the Mexico border.
The 11-page document calls for the unprecedented militarization of immigration enforcement as far north as Portland, Oregon, and as far east as New Orleans, Louisiana. If the proposal is implemented, governors in the affected states would have final approval on whether troops under their control participate.
Michael C. Short, the senior assistant White House press secretary, tweeted a link to the AP story and wrote “Not true.”
Not true. https://t.co/T8rA87kJaU
Trump campaigned on building a wall between the United States and Mexico (paid for by Mexico) and stepping up deportations for undocumented immigrants already in the country. In November of 2015, then-candidate Trump told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that there would be a “deportation force” to deport the 11 million unauthorized immigrants.
“You’re going to have a deportation force, and you’re going to do it humanely,” Trump said.
House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin) said during a townhall meeting on CNN in January that there would be no “deportation force.”
“If you’re worried some deportation force is coming and knocking on your door this year, don’t worry about that,” Ryan said.
The president signed an executive order on titled “Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements” on Jan. 25, just days after taking office.
“Aliens who illegally enter the United States without inspection or admission present a significant threat to national security and public safety. Such aliens have not been identified or inspected by Federal immigration officers to determine their admissibility to the United States,” the executive order reads. “The recent surge of illegal immigration at the southern border with Mexico has placed a significant strain on Federal resources and overwhelmed agencies charged with border security and immigration enforcement, as well as the local communities into which many of the aliens are placed.”
The executive order called for the building of detention facilities as well as the wall. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have been conducting enforcement raids around the country in recent days.
The crackdown on illegal criminals is merely the keeping of my campaign promise. Gang members, drug dealers & others are being removed!
On Thursday, many protesters participated in a “Day Without Immigrants,” to protest Trump’s policies and proposals. Schools and restaurants across the country closed in support.
National Guard soldiers can be deployed by either the governor of their state of the president of the United States, according to nationalguard.com. The Guard “responds to domestic emergencies, overseas combat missions, counterdrug efforts, reconstruction missions and more,” according to the site.
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