In the Time interview, Trump says he will use the National Guard to deport migrants

“If I thought things were going to get out of hand, I would have no problem deploying the military,” he said. “We must have security in our country. We must have law and order in our country. And whatever gets us there, but I think the National Guard will do the job.”

U.S. military forces – both National Guard and active duty – have historically been deployed at the border to support immigration personnel. However, deploying National Guard forces, or active-duty military personnel, to directly assist in the deportation of migrants, especially domestically, would represent a drastic escalation of their immigration efforts and would likely face legal challenges.

During Trump’s first term, the Department of Homeland Security considered deploying National Guard troops to round up unauthorized immigrants, but the plans ultimately never came to fruition.

Presidents have deployed troops, often National Guard troops, to bolster border security in various ways. President George W. Bush called on National Guard troops to bolster security along the southwestern border in “Operation Jumpstart,” while “Operation Phalanx” under President Barack Obama also used National Guard troops in similar ways.

Presidents Biden and Donald Trump have also deployed active-duty troops and National Guard troops to strengthen border security and assist with immigration-related tasks.

But those forces at the border have been used in specific, limited ways, such as data entry, surveillance or warehouse support, or to provide logistical support in ways that do not directly interact with migrants and are intended to give immigration personnel time to work to do.

When it comes to finding and removing people from the country, that is usually the job of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations division. They identify, arrest, detain and remove people determined not to have the right to remain in the country.

This can often be a lengthy and expensive process because removals are often carried out by air and because many countries do not agree to take migrants back from their countries.

Federal law generally prohibits the use of active duty service members in law enforcement in the U.S. unless specifically authorized by Congress.

When asked specifically whether he would lift restrictions on the use of the US military against civilians, Trump said the people who would be targeted are not civilians.

“These are people who do not legally reside in our country. This is an invasion of our country. An invasion like probably no country has ever seen before,” Trump told the magazine.

Trump has made cracking down on immigration a central part of his re-election campaign, repeating a strategy that worked for him when he first ran for office.

He has accused migrants of “poisoning the blood of the country” and has called people in the US suspected of committing crimes “animals.” He has vowed to end birthright rights and reinstate his travel ban, which originally targeted seven Muslim-majority countries.