Republican Senator Rand Paul showed this Sunday (24) that he opposes the idea of using the armed forces to carry out mass deportations of people living in the country illegally, after President-elect Donald Trump signaled last week that he plans to do so.
“You don’t do that to the Army because it’s illegal,” Paul said on CBS’s ‘Face the Nation’ program. “If they send the Army to New York and you have 10,000 soldiers marching around carrying semi-automatic weapons, I think that’s a terrible image and I’m going to oppose that.”
A 19th-century U.S. law prohibits federal troops from being used in domestic law enforcement except when authorized by Congress.
Continues after advertising
Supports the idea, but not of using the Army
Paul, a sometimes eccentric politician within his own party, noted that he supports the idea of deporting people living in the United States illegally and who have criminal records, but said law enforcement is better equipped than the military to carry out that task. function and to comply with the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures. There is a “distrust about putting the Army on our streets,” Paul said.
Asked whether this is a line to cross and whether it would affect his Senate vote to confirm Trump’s pick to head the Department of Homeland Security, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, Paul said: “I will not support and will not vote for in favor of the use of the Army in our cities.”
Mass immigration
Trump’s presidential transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Continues after advertising
Trump, who built his political profile by opposing illegal immigration, has vowed to launch the largest deportation effort in U.S. history as soon as he takes office on Jan. 20. He appeared to confirm in a social media post on Nov. 18 that he would declare a national emergency and use military resources for his plan to deport a record number of illegal immigrants in the United States.
FREE ACCESS
BONDS PORTFOLIO
