Taken seriously, Trump’s plans for deportation are ridiculous

Since Donald Trump’s rise to prominence in the 2016 presidential campaign and through his first term, out-of-office election-denial antics and his 2024 campaign, many supporters have built a cottage industry excusing his more extravagant claims. They’ve often said that Americans should take him seriously, but not literally.

While it’s true President-elect Trump often engages in figurative rhetoric that’s best to ignore, we believe that Americans should take his plan for mass deportations both literally and seriously, given its prominence in his campaign. It’s real cause for concern.

The “Mass Deportation Now” placards held by Trump supporters at his rallies were literally a sign of his intentions. Trump’s and Vice President J.D. Vance’s rhetorical attacks on Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were another — even though most of them are here legally and definitely were not eating pet cats and dogs.

Then there’s this doozy. Judicial Watch’s Tom Fitton posted the following on Truth Social: “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.” Trump responded to the post by writing “TRUE!!!”

ABC News noted that Trump, at his Madison Square Garden rally at the end of his campaign, promised, “On Day 1, I will launch the largest deportation program in American history to get the criminals out.” That statement includes wiggle room given its focus on criminals — and it’s still unclear how he might deploy military assets toward that end.

The military has long provided operational assistance to border authorities, according to CBS News. “(L)ongstanding federal law generally prohibits the use of the military for domestic law enforcement,” it noted, but exemptions exist. CBS quoted incoming border czar Tom Homan suggesting a more limited military role with Trump adviser Stephen Miller saying they might deputize the National Guard.

Even if the Trump team finds some legal justification, the proposal raises serious constitutional and practical concerns. We’re most concerned by the idea of declaring a national emergency. That tactic is rarely used in this country because it gives the federal government limitless powers to conduct raids and is distinctively un-American. There’s also talk of creating large detainment facilities.

This would entail invoking the Insurrection Act, which allows the feds to deploy the military in the face of “unlawful obstructions, combinations, or assemblages, or rebellion … (that) make it impracticable by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings.” Presidents rarely use such martial law-like powers and only for targeted situations — not for nationwide operations.

Anyone who believes that only criminal aliens have reason to fear such an approach are forgetting why our nation’s Founding Fathers included myriad checks and balances in the Constitution, were so concerned about due-process rights and so intent on limiting the unilateral power of the federal executive branch. American citizens — and non-criminal illegal immigrants — almost certainly will get caught up in any dragnets.

Conservatives who were rightly appalled at unilateral COVID-19 restrictions on our liberties should also oppose this type of power grab. The Orange County Register remains proud of its opposition to the Japanese-American internment during World War II.

This editorial board will likewise oppose any similar abuses now. It’s too early to know the details, but we take the threats literally and seriously.