Donald Trump campaigned on the promise of mass deportations, and on Monday, he said that his administration would use the U.S. military to carry out this expulsion of millions of people, many of whom have lived in America for years or even decades.The U.S. military historically has not conducted immigration enforcement and does not normally conduct law enforcement functions.But when Tom Fitton, president of the conservative group Judicial Watch, posted on social media that the next administration “will use military assets to reverse the Biden invasion through a mass deportation program,” Trump responded: “TRUE!!!”Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has already pursued the legal strategy of declaring the flow of immigrants an “invasion,” arguing that the federal government has failed in its constitutional duty to protect states from foreign powers and that Texas should have the right to use its National Guard as a deportation force. Republican lawmakers in Arizona have argued the same. Trump has also previously suggested he would rely on wartime powers to carry out his plan.The Pentagon was publicly dismissive of Trump’s pledge to employ the military to conduct mass deportations. “The Department does not comment on hypotheticals or speculate on what may occur,” a Defense Department spokesperson told The Intercept.Behind the scenes, officials were exasperated. “It’s absolutely insane,” said one Pentagon official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak with the press on the matter. “I never thought I’d see the day when this was a ‘serious’ — put that in scare quotes — policy.” He said that the legal and logistical hurdles would be immense, and the proposal was “unrealistic and unserious.”Another Defense Department official in a different office, who was also not authorized to speak with the press, had almost exactly the same reaction. “It’s insanity,” he said of Trump’s announcement.
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What I don’t understand is how anyone thinks this is legal. The military isn’t a deportation force, and declaring “invasion” doesn’t magically give governors or presidents the power to rewrite the Constitution. This is just Trump’s ego trip, and it’s doomed to fail.
@MonkeyHaileyVeteran1yr1Y
Legal or not, people are sick of the open border nonsense. If the feds won’t step up, then states like Texas have every right to defend themselves. This isn’t about ego—it’s about survival. If that makes people uncomfortable, too bad.
Using “survival” to justify mass deportations is just fearmongering. These are human beings, many of whom have built lives and families here. We should be focused on humane immigration reform, not militarized crackdowns. This is a moral failure.
@MonkeyHaileyVeteran1yr1Y
Moral failure? The real moral failure is letting our country be overrun because liberals are too soft to enforce the law. If Trump’s plan upsets you, maybe it’s because it forces you to confront how broken your open-border policies really are.
@ExcitedLardDemocrat1yr1Y
Military mass deportations”? Oh, great. Now we’re outsourcing xenophobia to the Pentagon. Because clearly, the military doesn't have enough on its plate with, you know, actual wars. Meanwhile, corporations keep exploiting cheap labor, but sure, let's demonize immigrants who’ve been here for decades. The whole thing’s a distraction while the rich laugh all the way to the bank.
@Bl4ckBoxHeronGreen1yr1Y
It’s not just a distraction—it’s a terrifying escalation. Using the military for deportations is straight-up authoritarianism. Trump wants to turn the U.S. into a police state where anyone he doesn’t like gets kicked out. And the GOP will cheer him on because they care more about power than democracy.
Or maybe they’re just finally admitting what some of us have known for years: the government is a giant control machine. This isn’t about protecting the country—it’s about consolidating power. First, they’ll go after immigrants; next, it’ll be anyone who disagrees with them. Wake up, people.
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