White House denies deportation force report
WASHINGTON • The Trump administration has a proposal in place to mobilize as many as 100,000 National Guard troops to round up unauthorized immigrants, including millions living nowhere near the Mexico border, according to a draft memo obtained by The Associated Press.
Though White House spokesman Sean Spicer denied the report as “100 per cent untrue” and “irresponsible,” the Department of Homeland Security confirmed that the draft memo is legitimate, but said it was a “very early, pre-decisional draft.”
The 11-page document calls for the unprecedented militarization of immigration enforcement as far north as Portland, Ore., and as far east as New Orleans. Dated Jan. 25, the draft memo says participating troops would be authorized “to perform the functions of an immigration officer in relation to the investigation, apprehension and detention of aliens in the United States.” It describes how the troops would be activated under a revived state-federal partnership program, and states that personnel would be authorized to conduct searches and identify and arrest any unauthorized immigrants. The draft document has circulated among DHS staff over the last two weeks. As recently as Friday, staffers in several different offices reported discussions were underway. If implemented, the impact could be significant. Nearly one-half of the 11.1 million people residing in the U.S. without authorization live in the 11 states outlined in the document.
The National Guard is a part-time volunteer force usually deployed for emergencies or natural disasters. While the National Guard has been used to assist in border patrol missions in the past, the scope of the policies described in the memo would constitute a significant expansion of its role.
The memo was designed to serve as guidance for the implementation of Trump’s broad executive order last month calling for greater immigration enforcement and was addressed to the chiefs of two U.S. immigration and border protection agencies.
Trump sparked alarm in Washington and among immigrants by proposing a “deportation force” during the presidential campaign. For a time, his policy was to deport every illegal immigrant in the country.
He later backtracked, without ever fully rejecting the idea of a deportation force.
Raids across 12 states last week resulted in the detention of 678 illegal immigrants, of which 74 per cent had been convicted of a crime, according to USA Today.