Deportation Debate: Troops or Tactics? 

United States: Republican US Senator Rand Paul has again expressed himself against mass deportation by the military after President-elect Donald Trump indicated last week that this is what he intends to do. 

Rand Paul Opposes Military Involvement  

“You don’t do it with the Army because it’s illegal,” Paul said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” program. “If they send the Army into New York and you have 10,000 troops marching carrying semi-automatic weapons, I think it’s a terrible image, and I will oppose that.” 

A pre-civil-war law drawn in the United States of America prohibits the usage of federal troops in domestic law enforcing authorities unless permitted by Congress, as reported by Reuters. 

Discussing his sometimes contentious relationship with his own party, Paul said that he does agree with the concept of shipping out of the country all those who are in the United States illegally and have committed crimes but asserted that law enforcement officials rather than the military are better suited to that process and to observing the Constitution’s 4th amendment against unreasonable searches and seizures. It will be important to remember that the American people have a “disdain for placing the Army into our streets,” according to Paul. 

When asked whether this is a ‘red line’ for him and if it would influence his vote on the Senate confirmation of Trump’s pick of South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem to run the Department of Homeland Security, Paul responded that he would not support and will not vote in our cities. 

Trump, who came to the limelight by his anti-illegal immigration stance, has pledged to deport more immigrants as soon as he is inaugurated on Jan 20. He seemed to approve in another tweet on 18th November that he would put into office a state of emergency and utilize armed forces in his bid to deport as many immigrants in the US illegals as possible.

Concerns Over Military Deployment  

Paul argued that the FBI, ICE, and the CPB agencies could possibly conduct these deportations.Incomprehensibly, the senator also pointed at the deployment of the National Guard for deportation purposes, stating that it is “less clear” if the use of such forces is legal or not. The National Guard is an essential US military force that is under the direct command and control of both the president and the governors. 

“President Trump will marshal every federal and state power necessary to institute the largest deportation operation of illegal criminals, drug dealers, and human traffickers in American history while simultaneously lowering costs for families,” Karoline Leavitt, a spokesperson for the Trump transition, said in a statement on Sunday. 

U.S. voters, Leavitt added, gave Trump “a mandate to implement the promises he made on the campaign trail, like deporting migrant criminals and restoring our economic greatness.” 

Mixed Reactions Among Republicans 

Kelli Hamilton, a strategist for Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz, said on CNN this week that describing the use of the military means in deportation campaigns was mere ‘rhetoric.’ Speaking during an interview on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures, Donalds seemed to safely argue that the mere threat of deploying the military in such a capacity may also serve as a deterrent, as reported by Reuters. 

”But once this process starts, I believe you are going to see a lot of self-deportation,” Ow said Donalds. 

Other Republicans supported the plan of utilizing the military in the deportation process. 

The incoming Senate Republican Whip John Barrasso said on Fox News Sunday that if Trump wants to declare an emergency, “he can appropriately use the military.”