US President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to use the military in an all-out effort to deport illegal immigrants. In an interview given to Time magazine, he said that he will use the army to the maximum extent of the law of the country. He was named Time's 'Person of the Year' in this interview published on Thursday (December 12). British news agency Reuters reported this news.
There is a US law limiting the use of the military in general domestic law enforcement. But Trump sees illegal immigration as an attack on the country. He said, I consider this as an attack on our country. We will use the National Guard and go as far as possible according to the laws of the land.
In his re-election campaign, Trump portrayed immigrants as dangerous criminals and promised to crack down on both legal and illegal immigration. He declared a national emergency and planned to raise funds and use federal government resources for these deportation operations.
Both Republican and Democratic administrations have previously used the National Guard to help patrol the border with Mexico. However, they were not used to arrest migrants. The Trump administration also plans to use the military in a supporting role, incoming border chief Tom Homan said.
“We want the Department of Defense to play a supporting role in transportation, infrastructure, intelligence gathering and targeting,” Homan said in an interview with Fox News. However, the arrest will be made by sworn immigration officers.
Trump has said his administration will focus on deporting immigrants quickly, so they don't need to be housed in long-term camps. He said, I don't want them to sit in the camp for 20 years. I want them out quickly, and the countries to take them back.
He also said he plans to deport all illegal immigrants in his four-year term.
Homeland Security said in a 2022 report that there are currently more than 1.1 million illegal immigrants in the United States. This number is believed to have increased in recent years.
According to the pro-immigration American Immigration Council, the cost of removing all illegal immigrants would be nearly a trillion dollars over a decade.
Trump failed to make such efforts during his first term in 2017-2021. By comparison, President Joe Biden's administration deported more immigrants in 2023 than in any of Trump's years.
In an interview with Time magazine, Trump said, “I am determined to stop illegal immigration in our country.”
