Republican Senator Calls Trump’s Migration Plan A ‘Huge Mistake’
Kentucky Senator Rand Paul (R) thinks President-elect Donald Trump should reconsider his deportation plan.
On Monday, Trump responded to a Truth Social post by Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton, who said that Trump is reportedly “prepared to declare a national emergency and will use military assets to reverse the Biden invasion through a mass deportation program.”
“TRUE!!” Trump posted.
Trump made a historic mass deportation campaign a cornerstone of his 2024 campaign, and his top officials have repeated that promise since he was elected this month.
In an appearance on Newsmax, on Tuesday, Paul expressed his opposition to such a plan.
Watch:
“I think what I would do if I were in charge of the immigration situation would be to first to go after those who have committed crimes. You know, the big news right before the election was that there were 15,000 people in our country who have committed murder, there are about 13,000 that have committed sex crimes, violent sex crimes. That’s 28,000 people. Why don’t we start with that 28,000?” began Paul. “I’m not in favor of sending the army in uniforms into our cities to collect people. I think it’s a terrible image. And that’s not what we use our military for, we never have. And it’s actually been illegal for over 100 years to bring the army into our cities. Army and our military are trained to shoot the enemy. They’re not trained to get a warrant to do what they’re doing. The police have a difficult job, but the people removing people from our country need to be a police enforcement domestic agency, not the military. So while I’m all for ‘Remain in Mexico,’ I will not support an emergency to put the army into our cities. I think that’s a huge mistake.”
“Do you think that’s what what Trump is intending to do?” asked host Rob Schmitt.
“Well, that’s what he said yesterday or his spokesman said, the stories all said he would declare an emergency to use the military to remove people. I’m not for that. I’m not for really most presidential emergencies because they smack of martial rule. They smack of of no congressional approval. They smack of no checks and balances,” replied the senator. “So, look, I’m supportive of President Trump. I’m supportive of removing people illegally here, particularly people who have committed crimes. But I’m not for the Army marching up and down our streets. I think it’s a terrible image to send the world. It’s a terrible image for us as citizens. And so I hope he will think twice about trying to use an emergency edict to have the army patrolling our country.”