By Bo Erickson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Republican U.S. Senator Rand Paul voiced opposition on Sunday to the idea of using the military to carry out mass deportations of people living in the country illegally after President-elect Donald Trump signaled last week that he plans to do so.
"You don't do it with the Army because it's illegal," Paul said on CBS's "Face the Nation" program. "If they send the Army into New York and you have 10,000 troops marching carrying semi-automatic weapons, I think it's a terrible image, and I will oppose that."
A 19th century U.S. law prohibits federal troops from being used in domestic law enforcement except when authorized by Congress.
Paul, at times a maverick within his party, noted that he supports the idea of deporting people living in the United States illegally who have criminal records, but said that law enforcement authorities are better equipped than the military to carry out that role and to heed the U.S. Constitution's Fourth Amendment prohibition on unreasonable searches and seizures. There is a "distrust of putting the Army into our streets" among Americans, Paul said.
Asked if this is a red line for him and whether it would impact his Senate vote to confirm Trump's pick of South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem to run the Department of Homeland Security, Paul said, "I will not support and will not vote to use the military in our cities."
Trump, who built his political profile on opposition to illegal immigration, has vowed to launch the largest deportation effort in U.S. history as soon as he is sworn in on Jan. 20. He appeared to confirm in a social media post on Nov. 18 that he would declare a national emergency and use military assets for his plan to deport a record number of immigrants in the United States illegally.
Paul said agents from the FBI, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency could carry out these deportations. The senator also questioned the use of the National Guard for deportations, saying it is "less clear" whether it would be legal or illegal to use these forces. The National Guard is a part of the U.S. military that answers to both the president and to state governors.
"President Trump will marshal every federal and state power necessary to institute the largest deportation operation of illegal criminals, drug dealers and human traffickers in American history while simultaneously lowering costs for families," Karoline Leavitt, a spokesperson for the Trump transition, said in a statement on Sunday.
U.S. voters, Leavitt added, gave Trump "a mandate to implement the promises he made on the campaign trail, like deporting migrant criminals and restoring our economic greatness."
Republican U.S. Representative Byron Donalds, a member of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus, on Sunday described the potential use of the military in deportation campaigns as "hyperbole." In an appearance on the Fox News program "Sunday Morning Futures," Donalds suggested that the threat alone of using the military in such a role could have a deterrent effect.
"I think you're going to see a lot of self-deportation once this process begins," Donalds said.
Other Republicans defended the idea of involving the military in the deportation effort.
Senator John Barrasso, who will be the Senate's No. 2 Republican when his party takes control of the chamber in January, told "Fox News Sunday" that if Trump declares a national emergency "he can appropriately use the military."