Trump Confirms He Will Use Military Assests To Round Up Illegals

The New York Post reports that "Trump confirms plans to use military to deport migrants after declaring national emergency." The article notes that "[a]ny attempt to use active-duty troops would be subject to legal challenges, as the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 limits the federal government from using the military to enforce domestic policy," but "[t]he act does not prohibit the National Guard from serving in a law enforcement capacity." Also:

    The president-elect has also said he would invoke the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to dismantle criminal gangs operating on American soil.

    The act — which requires Congress to declare war — would allow Trump to detain and remove dangerous foreign nationals that are deemed a threat to the US. Trump has yet to say whether he would declare war on a specific country — such as Venezuela — to authorize the removal of migrants.

This NPR article--"Trump is promising deportations under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. What is it?"--goes into more detail concerning the Act, including the relevant language and the history of when the Act has been invoked. It also notes that Trump has authority, independent of the Act, to round up and expel illegals. I suspect that what Trump wants to avoid, however, are procedural delays in expelling illegals under the current immigration laws. 

    In other immigration news, The Guardian complains that "Haitian immigrants flee Springfield, Ohio, in droves after Trump election win." The article relates:

    From a tiny office behind a Haitian grocery store on Springfield’s South Limestone Street, Margery Koveleski has spent years helping local Haitians overcome bureaucratic red tape to make their lives in the Ohio city a little bit easier.

    But Koveleski – whose family is Haitian – has noticed a major change recently.

    Haitians are now coming to her to figure out how to leave.

    “Some folks don’t have credit cards or access to the internet, and they want to buy a bus ticket or a plane ticket, so we help them book a flight,” she told the Guardian recently. “People are leaving.”

    Koveleski, leaders in Springfield’s Haitian community, and others have relayed reports of Haitians fleeing the city of 60,000 people in recent days for fear of being rounded up and deported after Donald Trump’s victory in the 5 November presidential election.

    “The owner of one store is wondering if he should move back to New York or to Chicago – he says his business is way down,” Koveleski remarked.

    Trump has repeatedly said he would end immigrants’ temporary protected status (TPS) – the provision through which many Haitians are legally allowed to live and work in the US – and deport Haitians from Springfield once in office.

    For many, the threats are real.

As the article goes on to relate, not all are leaving the United States, some just opting to get out of the area where the local sheriff has threatened to arrest them all and figure out their immigration status later, and others headed for Canada.