President-elect Donald Trump confirmed Monday he would declare a “national emergency” to deport illegal migrants using “military assets” once he steps back into office early next year.
Trump made the statement on Truth Social, responding “TRUE!!!” to a post from Judicial Watch chief Tom Fitton expressing hope that the president-elect would do so.
“GOOD NEWS: Reports are the incoming @RealDonaldTrump administration prepared to declare a national emergency and will use military assets to reverse the Biden invasion through a mass deportation program,” Fitton wrote on the social media platform.
Trump said he would declare a “national emergency” over migrant deportation. Getty ImagesTrump has vowed to enact the largest deportation in history, starting when he takes the oath of office Jan. 20.
Any attempt to use active-duty troops would be subject to legal challenges, as the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 limits the federal government’s use of the military to enforce domestic policy.
The act does not prohibit the National Guard from serving in a law enforcement capacity.
An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) source confirmed to The Post that the military is barred from performing constabulary duties without Congressional authorization.
“If the incoming administration were to pursue such a strategy, it might involve deploying National Guard units or other military resources under different legal frameworks, potentially framing it as a public safety or humanitarian effort, ” this person said. “However, this approach would most certainly provoke considerable backlash from civil rights groups and the public.”
The source added that while the military could “play a role in such operations, the ramifications would be complex and contentious, requiring careful consideration of legal, ethical, and social implications.”
But former acting ICE Director Ron Vitiello told The Post that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has called upon the Pentagon “many times” in the past.
Vitiello said he could see the military being leveraged to provide “transportation or construction as they have done before.”
Military defense attorney Davis Younts suggested the military could help ICE by conducting drone surveillance of removal targets and providing security at migrant detention centers.
Migrants being deported to Mexico under Title 8 walk through the CBP Paso del Norte Port of Entry in El Paso, Texas. The Washington Post via Getty ImagesService members, however, could not actually be the ones detaining illegal immigrants for ICE.
“They would be in a support role, supporting law enforcement,” said Younts, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel.
“When I worked with the National Guard, we would do things with the FBI, ATF or DEA. We would be doing a large bust and we would provide overwatch from helicopters, we would provide drone support, we would do all of those things.”
St. Mary’s School of Law professor Jeffrey Addicott, a retired Army lieutenant colonel, said the military could “build and maintain detention facilities, they could provide transportation, they could provide logistical backup” — freeing up the thousands of ICE agents needed to carry out the removals.
Congress could also “carve out an exemption” to the 1878 law, Addicott added, which would allow the military “to be used to arrest and detain” for at least the next two years.
The president-elect has also said he would invoke the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to dismantle criminal gangs operating on American soil.
The act — which requires Congress to declare a state of war — would allow Trump to detain and remove dangerous foreign nationals that are deemed a threat to the US.
Texas National Guard patrol as they reinforce security with barbed wire and chain-link fencing to prevent migrants from crossing the border while hundreds of migrants camp near the Rio Grande on the border between Mexico and the United States in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico on April 1, 2024. Anadolu via Getty ImagesTrump has yet to say whether he would declare war on a specific country — such as Venezuela — to authorize the removal of migrants.
The former president is prioritizing the border in his transition plans and has created a new “border czar” position for former acting ICE Director Tom Homan, who will work with government agencies to secure both the south and northern borders.
Homan has said he will work to remove illegal immigrants in the US illegally without regard for Democrat-run cities like New York claiming “sanctuary” status.
“I’ve been clear. President Trump’s been clear. Public safety threats and national security threats will be the priority because they have to be, they pose the most danger in this country,” Homan told “Fox & Friends” last week after being tapped for the czar position.
Homan told The Post he hopes Trump will use his authority to squeeze sanctuary cities by cutting off federal funding and launching legal action.
“If they’re not willing to do it,” he warned, “then get out of the way — we’re coming.”
