DENVER — Colorado legal experts say President-elect Donald Trump’s plan to carry out his deportation plan could face a number of court challenges.
Trump said his plan would start with deporting violent criminals who are in the country illegally, which he dubbed ‘Operation Aurora.’
“We will send elite squads of ICE, Border Patrol, and federal law enforcement officers to hunt down, arrest, and deport every last illegal alien gang member until there is not a single one left in this country,” Trump said at his rally in Aurora last month.
On Monday, Trump confirmed he plans to declare a national emergency and use “military assets” to deport millions of immigrants from the United States.
“So right away, there's a question as to whether this is the sort of thing that was intended for presidents to call a national emergency. That's a really an unanswered question,” said University of Colorado constitutional and immigration law professor P. (Deep) Gulasekaram. “In general, courts have given a wide berth to presidential exercises of that power to declare things a national emergency. This would certainly strain the idea of what a national emergency is. The immigration concern has been around for decades, if not half a century, if not more.”
Presidents have declared dozens of national emergencies over the last 50 years to deal with all kinds of problems, from the Iran Hostage Crisis to Covid-19. More than 40 national emergencies remain in effect today, including President Jimmy Carter’s executive order freezing Iranian assets in 1979.
During his first term in office, Trump declared a national emergency at the southern border, allowing him to access billions for a border wall. When President Biden took office, he ended that particular national emergency.
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Trump confirms mass deportation plan to include national emergency, military use
Gulasekaram says the fact Trump wants to use the military to help carry out his mass deportation plan is another big problem.
“There are, in fact, laws that prohibit the United States military from being used in domestic law enforcement circumstances,” said Gulasekaram.
Trump has not yet said what exact role the military would play in his mass deportation plan. Some of Trump’s supporters suggest the military may play a supporting role for ICE and other law enforcement agencies who would lead the effort.
Gulasekaram says Congress would have to pass legislation in order for the military to be used in a domestic law enforcement situation.
“Congress has not specifically authorized that,” said Gulasekaram. “And so there are several steps for the president to use that he would have to cross in order to be able to use the military in this way by declaring a national emergency.”
Gov. Jared Polis's office sent the following statement to Denver7, saying in part that the governor "worries Trump's immigration and economic plans are a recipe for a major recession."
“Anybody who commits a crime needs to be held accountable. We are always appreciative of more federal assistance to make Coloradans safer by prosecuting and deporting dangerous criminals. Using federal forces or deputizing the National Guard to separate families and hardworking law-abiding Coloradans is cruel and would devastate our economy by kneecapping important industries and jobs. We do not support deporting hardworking people who follow Colorado’s laws and targeting innocent children and families. Governor Polis worries that Trump’s immigration and economic plans are a recipe for a major recession.”
A poll from Scripps News in September showed 54% of Americans would support mass deporting undocumented immigrants.
Dr. Robert Preuhs, the chair of the political science department at MSU Denver, says actually seeing it carried out, especially if it goes beyond targeting violent criminals, is another matter.
“No one really wants to see military troops walking through neighborhoods, knocking on doors,” said Preuhs. “I'm not so sure that Americans are going to be like super excited once they see what a mass deportation looks like and what that effect has on the economy and families.”
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