Trump vows to use US military for mass deportations

President-elect Donald Trump has confirmed on his social media network that he plans to use the US military to carry out a mass deportation of undocumented migrants.

On Monday, he posted “TRUE!!!” in response to a conservative commentator who wrote that Trump would declare a national emergency and use military assets to lead “a mass deportation program”.

At campaign events, Trump repeatedly pledged to mobilise the National Guard to assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the federal agency tasked with carrying out deportations.

Trump’s latest comment comes as questions grow about how he would fulfil his pledge to execute the largest mass deportation in US history.

He has repeatedly said he would begin deportations on his first day in office, which will be 20 January 2025.

But even if a US administration was able to legally move ahead with these plans, authorities would still have to contend with enormous logistical challenges.

For example, experts are doubtful that ICE’s 20,000 agents and support personnel would be enough to find and track down millions of undocumented migrants.

There would also be a major financial cost, but Trump recently told NBC News that this would not deter his administration’s efforts.

Trump’s post was made on his Truth Social network early on Monday as he continues to announce his nominations for key posts in his administration.

Trump has already chosen several loyal allies for top roles overseeing immigration and deportation policy, including Kristi Noem who has been nominated to lead the Department of Homeland Security, and former ICE chief Tom Homan who Trump has named his “border tsar”.

Trump’s team have so far released few details about how the plan will be executed.

He has previously said that he plans to declare a national emergency, which would authorise him to deploy troops on US soil.

Homan told Fox News on Monday that he will visit Trump’s Florida home this week “to put the final touches on the plan”, including deciding what role the US Department of Defense (DOD) will have.

“Can DOD assist? Because DOD can take a lot off our plate,” he said, saying that the pace of deportations will depend on the resources agencies are given.

On Monday, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) sued ICE for more details on how the deportation plan will work. The group plans to continue to file legal challenges in an effort to block the mass deportation.

Under the four years of the previous Trump administration, around 1.5 million people were deported, both from the border and the US interior.

The Biden administration – which had deported about 1.1 million people up to February 2024 – is on track to match that, statistics show.