Barely re-elected President of the United States, Donald Trump is beginning to reveal his priorities. Among these, well-known, is immigration. On this subject, he says he wants to use the army to accelerate the expulsions of migrants.
Donald Trump wants to use the army to solve the immigration problem
The idea of using the army to deport migrants is not new to Donald Trump. During his first term, he had already flirted with the idea of using the National Guard to secure the borders. This time, he goes further by evoking the deployment of federal troops to support an unprecedented deportation program.
Tom Fitton, director of the conservative organization Judicial Watch, has floated the idea of using the armed forces to control immigration. For his part, Donald Trump immediately validated these comments by simply responding: “It's true !“. This strategy is based on the possibility for the President of the United States to declare a national emergency, a constitutional provision allowing the mobilization of exceptional resources in the event of a crisis.
Precedents under the last American presidency
In 2019, Donald Trump had already used this provision to reallocate $8 billion to the construction of a wall on the Mexican border. However, using the military to deport migrants raises complex legal questions. The Posse Comitatus Act, a federal law of 1878, normally prohibits the use of armed forces for law enforcement within the United States except in specific circumstances.
Today, the United States has an estimated 11 million illegal immigrants. If this program were to be implemented, the repercussions would be considerable. From an economic point of view already, Mass evictions would require a colossal budget for logistics, personnel, and infrastructure. Furthermore, the departure of millions of migrant workers could exacerbate labor shortages in several key sectors, such as agriculture and construction.
In addition, human rights associations are warning of the dramatic consequences of this project. During Donald Trump's first term, the separation of thousands of migrant children from their parents sparked international outrage. These practices could be reiterated or amplified.
