Donald Trump's border czar has confirmed that the U.S. military will assist with removing millions of illegal aliens living in the country.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Tom Homan discussed the second Trump administration's ambitious mass deportation plans.
The Trump administration will use the military as a "force multiplier" to aid with the massive undertaking, Homan said, adding the details depend on what resources Congress will provide.
While Trump's mass deportations pledge has conjured up images of a draconian, militarized crackdown, Homan suggested there is a less dramatic role for the troops to play as logistical support.
This could extend to using military bases to house migrants facing deportation or flying aliens back to their homes with military aircraft. The troops could also assist with building short-term housing infrastructure, Homan said.
“It’s something that’s certainly on the table,” Homan said Friday. “We’re waiting to see what Congress is going to give us for funding.”
Trump will declare the immigration crisis a national emergency on day one of his presidency, which will enable him to divert Pentagon funds to support the deportation effort.
The scale of Trump's deportation plan is unprecedented, but the military has been used before to house immigrants. Both Presidents Obama and Joe Biden used military bases to house unaccompanied migrant children before releasing them into the country, for example.
Besides logistical challenges like finding enough holding space, Trump is facing the possibility of public backlash, especially if deportations result in families being separated.
Homan has said the administration will give families of illegal aliens the choice to be deported together. Illegal aliens are not "immune from our laws" if they happen to have children born in the U.S., he told NewsNation.
"We can’t send that message,” he said. “Because if we do, you’re never going to solve the border crisis.”
Homan said the mass deportation effort could cost taxpayers $86 billion, but the benefits will outweigh the expense.
"What price do you put on the thousands of American moms and dads who buried their children?" he asked.
"You want to talk about family separation; they buried their children because their children were murdered by illegal aliens that weren’t supposed to be here. I don’t put a price on that. I don’t put a price on national security. I don’t put a price on American lives," he said.
