President-elect Donald Trump confirmed on Monday that he is prepared to declare a national emergency and potentially use military assets as part of a mass deportation effort that his administration is preparing to launch on day one.
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.
INCOMING TRUMP ADMIN EYES MASSIVE EXPANSION OF IMMIGRATION DETENTION: ‘HE WILL DELIVER’
Former President Donald Trump arrives to speak during an election night event at the Palm Beach Convention Center on Nov. 6, 2024 in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Trump declared a national emergency at the southern border in 2019 in order to allocate more money to the construction of a border wall amid congressional inaction on the subject. Military assets have been used in a number of ways in regard to border security, including in Texas. However, it is not clear how they would be used related to deportations.
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.
“Following the Eisenhower Model, we will carry out the largest domestic deportation operation in American history,” Trump said in September.
He has also promised to invoke the Alien Enemies Act to remove gang members, drug dealers and cartel members from the U.S., with the help of multiple government agencies.
Additionally, he previously said he is prepared to move troops to the southern border and use the Navy to impose a “fentanyl blockade” on U.S. waters.
Fox News Digital reported last week that the Trump administration is already discussing where it can expand detention centers in anticipation of the operation and has spoken to private prison companies about potential expansion.
Migrants reach for food being handed out while being recorded by a woman outside the Roosevelt Hotel, where dozens of recently arrived migrants have been camping out as they try to secure temporary housing on Aug. 2, 2023 in New York City. (Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images)
Karoline Leavitt, a spokesperson for the transition team told Fox News Digital, “The American people re-elected President Trump by a resounding margin, giving him a mandate to implement the promises he made on the campaign trail. He will deliver.”
DEM GOVERNOR THREATENS TO USE ‘EVERY TOOL’ TO FIGHT BACK AGAINST TRUMP-ERA DEPORTATIONS
Trump announced three major immigration-related staffing moves last week. He announced that former acting ICE Director Tom Homan will be the “border czar” and will be in charge of border security and overseeing the deportation operation. On Tuesday, Trump announced that Kristi Noem was his pick to lead the department of Homeland Security.
Trump is likely to face significant resistance from blue states for his deportation operation. Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey said she is prepared to use “every tool in the tool box” to protect its citizens and residents and vowed that state police would “absolutely not” assist Trump in the operation.
‘LIBERATION DAY’: WHAT TO EXPECT FROM PRESIDENT-ELECT TRUMP ON BORDER SECURITY, IMMIGRATION
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said last week that he is “going to do everything that I can to protect our undocumented immigrants.”
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However, he conceded there were some circumstances where his state would work with the federal government to deport illegal immigrants.
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“We cannot prohibit them, federal law enforcement, from coming into our state to, you know, conduct raids or do anything else like that,” Pritzker said. “Meanwhile, I think it would be very difficult for them to just spread out across the country. They don’t have enough manpower within the Department of Homeland Security in order to carry that out.”
Fox News’ Kristine Parks contributed to this report.
