The potential impact of Trump’s extreme deportation and immigration agenda

On the campaign trail this weekend, former President Donald Trump made clear that, if elected again, he'd pursue more extreme immigration policies, including mass deportations of millions of people. Donald Trump , Former President of the United States (R) and Current U.S. Presidential Candidate: On day one, I will terminate every open border policy of the Biden administration, and we will begin the largest domestic deportation operation in American history. (Cheering and applause) Donald Trump : We have no choice. Amna Nawaz: To break down the potential impact of Trump's agenda, Laura Barron-Lopez joins us now. So, Laura, what has the former president laid out in terms of his immigration plan if he were to win this year? Laura Barron-Lopez: So, Amna, that mass deportation plan that Trump has talked about, including this weekend, we know some details of how it would be carried out from Stephen Miller, the architect of Trump's first-term immigration policies, who remains a close ally and adviser to the president. Stephen Miller talked about how they would carry out that type of deportation plan to right-wing personality Charlie Kirk last fall. Stephen Miller, Former Senior White House Adviser: Then, in terms of personnel, you go to the red state governors and you say, give us your National Guard. We will deputize them as immigration enforcement officers. The Alabama National Guard is going to arrest illegal aliens in Alabama and the Virginia National Guard in Virginia. And if you're going to go into an unfriendly state like Maryland, well, there would just be Virginia doing the arrest in Maryland right, very close, very nearby. Laura Barron-Lopez: So, there, Stephen Miller is talking about how they would federalize the National Guard to carry out the mass deportation plan. Through comments from Stephen Miller, through comments from the former president himself, reports, as well as aligned policy groups, we have a picture of the type of immigration policies that the former president would implement if he were to win a second term. And so the list that we have is not an exhaustive list, but it includes building large-scale camps near the southern border, a renewed Muslim travel ban, the end of birthright citizenship for U.S.-born children of undocumented immigrants, and creating a federalized army of red state National Guards like Stephen Miller referenced. Amna Nawaz: Is that legally possible, even federalizing red state National Guard? Laura Barron-Lopez: So, technically, yes, it is. I spoke to Joseph Nunn. He is from the Brennan Center for Justice and he is a legal expert on U.S. military activities domestically. And he said that this is legally possible for the president to do. Joseph Nunn, Brennan Center for Justice: Donald Trump 's proposal to send the National Guard from red states into blue states in order to enforce this deportation program could only be accomplished through invoking the Insurrection Act. But the Insurrection Act makes the president the sole judge of whether a given situation warrants invoking the act. In other words, an insurrection is whatever the president says is an insurrection. That's why it's so important for Congress to reform the Insurrection Act to put in place safeguards against abuse, because, as things stand, there are quite literally no guardrails. Laura Barron-Lopez: So, as Joseph Nunn said there, former President Trump has pretty wide authority to institute the Insurrection Act in order to federalize National Guards And be able to send them into other states to round up migrants. And the last time, Amna, that the Insurrection Act was invoked was 1992. It's rarely used. And before that, the only time it was ever invoked over the objection of states and state leaders was in the 1960s. Amna Nawaz: Laura, what would something like that mean for the military? Laura Barron-Lopez: Joseph Nunn of the Brennan Center told me that to even do something like that, you would have to have wide mobilization, large-scale mobilization of military, of the National Guard. And it would require these members of the military, who have other duties, mind you, and the National Guard is key in helping with duties abroad, that they would then be taken away from that in order to carry this out. I also spoke to a former commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, who said that National Guard are not trained in the way that border agents, in the way that ICE agents are trained to be able to tell what people's status are, whether someone can be detained. And they are trained, ICE and Border Patrol agents, in the civil and criminal laws that enable them to carry out immigration law. And that's not something that National Guard is prepared for. Amna Nawaz: Laura, Mr. Trump also made some rather eye-popping statements about America's commitment to NATO allies. What did he say and what has the response been like? Laura Barron-Lopez: Amna, his statements were pretty in form with the former president. We have heard him in the past say that he isn't always — doesn't always want to be aligned with NATO and the commitment that America has made to NATO, but he went further this weekend. Donald Trump : One of the presidents of a big country stood up said: "Well, sir, if we don't pay, and we're attacked by Russia, will you protect us?" I said: "You didn't pay? You're delinquent?" He said: "Yes. Let's say that happened." "No, I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want." (Cheering and applause) Donald Trump : "You got to pay. You got to pay your bills." (Cheering and applause) Laura Barron-Lopez: Going further there, Amna, by outright encouraging an adversary like Russia to invade NATO allies and that he would encourage them to do so, the White House almost immediately responded, calling it unhinged comments, saying that it threatened not just national security, but also global stability. And I spoke to a former ambassador to NATO, Ivo Daalder, who said that his phone was almost immediately blinking red after those comments hearing from counterparts in Europe and saying that now allies in Europe are essentially considering the unthinkable, which is that the U.S. may no longer be willing to play a leadership role in NATO. And this all comes, Amna, as Vice President Kamala Harris is about to head to the Munich Security Conference to address allies. Amna Nawaz: Laura Barron-Lopez with some insight into what another Trump presidency could look like. Laura, thank you. Laura Barron-Lopez: Thank you. For more information, visit us at https://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/.