Sen. Rand Paul, usually a conservative favorite, is facing some backlash for voicing dissent against plans to use the military to deport illegals.
Appearing on Newsmax this Tuesday, Paul called the tentative plan of using the military to round up and deport illegals a “terrible” idea.
Listen:
(Video Credit: Newsmax)
“I’m not in favor of sending the Army in uniforms into our cities to collect people,” he said. “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.”
“Our 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. I’m not in favor of sending the Army in uniforms into our cities to collect people. I think it’s a terrible image,” he added.
The senator later doubled down in a Twitter/X post, writing, “We, as conservatives who are supportive of Trump, need to caution him about sending the army into our cities. It’s a terrible image to send the world, and it’s a terrible image for us as citizens.”
Critics staunchly disagreed.
“This is especially galling when we have weak, complicit Republicans who are more concerned about optics and feelings than following our laws and prioritizing the safety of American Citizens,” one critic tweeted.
“How about instead of going at Trump before he is even in office, you focus on Democrats filling our cities with illegals and maybe also focus on having Congress intervene and stop the current administration from getting us into WWIII,” another critic added.
See more responses below:
Personally I find the images of foreign cartels and gang members terrorizing Americans to be more terrible.
— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) November 20, 2024
Sending the military after violent gangs when corrupt liberal politicians are giving them sanctuary is a great message to send.
— First Words (@unscriptedmike) November 20, 2024
With all due respect sir, these people came into our country with no vetting or background checks. They are draining cities resources from citizens. I support Trump on this
— Paula (@PaulaRed62) November 20, 2024
Shut up.
We’re not worried about our “image”.
We’re worried about the flood of illegals who have been dumped on us, are sucking resources dry and need to be thrown out!— Based Opinions (@Based_Opinion_) November 20, 2024
Terrible image? What’s truly terrible is open borders letting in criminals, terrorists, and deadly drugs. That’s not just chaos, it’s an invasion. Restoring order isn’t a bad look; it’s survival.
— MAG1775 (@Mar50cC5O) November 20, 2024
You have never been supportive of DJT. You never did much (if anything!) to resist the lawfare aimed at DJT. You’ve done almost nothing to combat Biden’s march to WWIII or his financing of perpetual slaughter in Gaza, yet you find the time to reinforce a leftist talking point
— Jejune the Destroyer (@of_lyon68642) November 20, 2024
Let’s put them in YOUR neighborhood in YOUR local parks and street corners. Then have your Governor come out publicly claiming he will protect the “immigrants”. See if you care about the optics then. #AmericaLast pic.twitter.com/n09otOTgMy
— Steve Wilson (@wilstv) November 20, 2024
Confirmation that President-elect Donald Trump is interested in using the military to round up and deport illegals first appeared earlier this month when he reposted a Truth Social post from Tim Fitton of Judicial Watch.
“GOOD NEWS: Reports are the incoming @RealDonaldTrump administration prepared to declare a national emergency and will use military assets to reverse the Biden invasion through a mass deportation program,” Fitton wrote on Truth Social.
“TRUE!!!” Trump added in his repost.
Look:
Can he really pull this off, though? Yes, according to Vox, a left-wing news site.
“Trump has a few avenues through which he could activate the military and its resources,” Vox reported on Wednesday. “Those include the Insurrection Act, which gives the president the power to deploy the military domestically; emergency powers, like redirecting funds to military construction projects; and other presidential powers like requesting national guard assistance in carrying out military missions.”
The bad news is that so-called “immigration advocates” at organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union are prepping to challenge anything and everything Trump does.
ACLU plan to fight Donald Trump mass deportations in cities in all 50 states
“We’ve got lawyers in all 50 states, and we will be joining forces with other civil rights organizations and with governors and mayors who are in American communities and want to stand with us against… pic.twitter.com/dNQB2Pa5Ow
— JOSH DUNLAP (@JDunlap1974) November 16, 2024
