Vance stands by Trump’s false claims about Venezuelan gangs in Aurora, Colorado
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
(DENVER) — GOP vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance is standing by former President Donald Trump’s false claims that Venezuelan gangs have invaded and conquered Aurora, Colorado.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that members of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang have “taken over” apartment complexes and “overrun” the city, as he did in a rally in the city on Friday.
Mike Coffman, the Republican mayor of Aurora, said Trump’s claims are “grossly exaggerated” and “have unfairly hurt the city’s identity and sense of safety.”
Asked by “This Week” co-anchor Martha Raddatz on Sunday if he supports Trump making those claims, Vance did not back down.
“Well, Martha, you just said the mayor said they were exaggerated. That means there’s got to be some element of truth here,” Vance said.”
Raddatz followed up with Vance, saying the issues in Aurora were limited to a handful of apartment complexes and that the mayor released a statement saying the city’s “dedicated police officers have acted on those concerns and will continue to do so.”
Vance responded, saying Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris caused the issues in Aurora.
“Unfortunately, when you let people in by the millions, most of whom are unvetted, most of whom you don’t know who they really are, you’re going to have problems like this.”
“Kamala Harris, 94 executive orders that undid Donald Trump’s successful border policies. We knew this stuff would happen. Bragged about opening the border, and now we have the consequences, and we’re living with it. We can do so much better, but frankly, we’re not going to do better, Martha, unless Donald Trump calls this stuff out. I’m glad that he did.”
In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, which devastated parts of states in the southeastern U.S., including Florida, North Carolina, and Georgia, Trump has falsely suggested that aid from FEMA meant for the hurricane was going to migrants and that the federal government is going out of their way to not help people in Republican areas.
Asked if he believed that true, Vance defended the president.
“What the President said is that fundamentally, FEMA aid is distracted by going to illegal migrants,” Vance responded. “We’ve got Republican congressmen who are on the ground who represent that area saying that they have to call the White House to get food and water to FEMA? I don’t, frankly, think there’s anything malicious going on here, Martha, but I do think that we’ve had an incompetent response to this particular crisis, particularly in Western North Carolina, which, to be fair, was hit harder than a lot of us expected it.”
Vance called the federal government’s response to the crisis incompetent, saying members of the military are still “trickling” into western North Carolina.
Raddatz pushed back against the false claims that the government is not assisting people in Republican areas and citing Pentagon officials who said that active duty troops were staged and ready to go before being called upon and were instantly out the door.
On Friday in Georgia, Vance said that the attorney general is the second-most important government role after the president.
Raddatz pressed Vance if Trump would go after his political opponents if he won another term.
“No, he was president for four years, and he didn’t go after his political opponents. You know, who did go after her political opponents? Kamala Harris, who has tried to arrest everything from pro-life activists to her political opponents,” Vance said.
To follow up, Raddatz told Vance that Trump has said in the past that those who have cheated will be prosecuted.
“Well, he said that people who violated our election laws will be prosecuted. I think that’s the administration of law,” Vance said. “He didn’t say people are going to go to jail because they disagree with me.”
Vance continues to refuse to acknowledge that Trump lost the 2020 election. In an interview with “This Week” earlier this year, Vance said he wouldn’t have certified the results of the 2020 race until states submitted pro-Trump electors.
Raddatz pressed Vance again on the 2020 election.
“In interview after interview, question after question, and in the debate, you refuse to say that Donald Trump lost the 2020 election,” Raddatz said. “So I’m just going to assume that if I ask you 50 times whether he lost the election, you would not acknowledge that he did. Is that correct?”
“Martha, you’ve you asked this question. I’ve been asked this question 10 times in the past couple of weeks. Of course, Donald Trump and I believe there were problems in 2020,” Vance said.
Pressed again by Raddatz, Vance replied, “I’ve said repeatedly I think the 2020 election had problems. You want to say rigged? You want to say he won? Use whatever vocabulary term you want.”
(WASHINGTON) — Billionaire businessman Mark Cuban, who has thrown his weight behind Vice President Kamala Harris, told ABC News on Tuesday that he tried to set up a private meeting between Elon Musk and Harris, but her team declined.
Cuban said the campaign passed because “they didn’t think Elon Musk could keep the conversation private.”
“The things he says about Kamala are so far off I thought it would be beneficial for them to talk,” Cuban said of Musk.
If Harris wins the race, Cuban said he’d still try to set up a conversation between Harris and Musk, given that he’s one of the “best entrepreneurs.” The move is “not political — it’s common sense,” Cuban added.
Cuban also said that Musk’s pledge to give away $1 million a day to voters for signing his political action committee’s petition is a move out of “desperation” that could “backfire.”
With two weeks until Election Day, Cuban told CNBC that the Harris campaign’s biggest challenge is that “they’re not great salespeople.”
Cuban elaborated, saying being a salesperson is not Harris’ strength.
“Harris is just not a good salesperson — she’s strong on policy, integrity, ethics, understanding, self-awareness, open-mindedness,” said Cuban, a star of the ABC reality TV show “Shark Tank” and the former majority owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks. “She’s great on politics for business and policies across the board. That’s where her strengths lie. Not everyone is a great salesperson.”
“Trump is the opposite. He will say things that are not remotely true,” Cuban said, adding that Trump will repeat falsehoods to make the sell.
Cuban said he has talked to Harris’ team about her improving as a salesperson, but said that in the sprint to the finish, “you’re not going to send her to a sales class at this point.”
“If I’m voting for someone who is ethical and honest — I’ll take the person who is not a great salesperson,” Cuban said, adding that surrogates like himself can help make the sell on the trail and that the candidate themself doesn’t have to be the best salesperson.
As Election Day rapidly approaches, Cuban and other surrogates are talking to voters about the value their candidate brings and their vision for the country in what’s expected to be a close contest. Earlier this month, Cuban embarked on a multi-day speaking tour through battleground Pennsylvania touting the Harris-Walz ticket.
Cuban said he spoke to Harris recently, remarking that her schedule is “worse than a professional sports team” so he wanted to see how she’s doing.
“I asked her how she is. She’s doing well. She’s holding up. She’s a workout machine. Harris is a workout machine,” Cuban said, referring to her exercise routine. “Whereas Donald Trump can’t see his toes.”
Cuban said that Harris’ economic plan is an improvement over Trump’s, which he said would raise costs for businesses and consumers.
“The second largest line item for every business is healthcare, it’s benefits, and she is looking to cut down those costs. Donald Trump has concepts of a plan,” Cuban said, referencing Trump’s response during the ABC News presidential debate when asked about his health care plan.
“He said he’s going to do across the board tariffs. That could be 60% of everything. Almost everything you buy for Christmas is made at some point from China. If that happens this time next year, then every household is going to have to cut back on what they buy for Christmas,” Cuban added.
Despite the polls tightening, Cuban insists that the momentum is still on Harris’ side.
On July 23, Harris’ favorability rating was 51.6% “unfavorable” and 38.6% “favorable,” according to 538’s favorability averages. At the moment, 47.2% see her as unfavorable and 46.6% as favorable.
Cuban said 13 weeks ago, Harris’ “favorables were negative,” but things have improved now.
“She was behind what Joe Biden was pulling at the time. And in those 13 weeks at worst she’s caught up and at best she’s ahead. Do you realize how incredible that is? Versus someone who is a former president and ran last cycle and has been campaigning almost the entire time since.”
(NEW YORK) — The vice-presidential debate between Tim Walz and JD Vance could prove to be a major factor in the presidential election — given how close the race is and its potential impact with undecided voters.
The 90-minute CBS News showdown starts at 9 p.m. ET in New York City. ABC News Digital will live blog throughout the day and evening, pre-debate coverage will air at 8 p.m. on the ABC network and stream on ABC News Live — followed by the debate itself and post-debate analysis.
Here’s how the news is developing:
Vance squeezes in an opening statement
Tonight’s debate didn’t start with opening statements, instead launching right into a question about conflict in the Middle East. At least one of the candidates thought that was pretty awkward, as Vance tried to answer the question by introducing himself first. That’s important for Vance, as America doesn’t really like him: He has a net favorability rating of -11 percentage points, according to 538’s average.
—538’s Nathaniel Rakich
Candidates pressed on Iran attack on Israel
Both candidates were pressed in the first question on whether they’d support a preemptive Israeli strike on Iran if it was determined that Tehran had secured a nuclear weapon.
Walz started off shaky, at one point confusing Israel and Iran but declaring that Harris would provide “steady leadership” while noting that at the first presidential debate, “80-year-old Donald Trump” was “talking about crowd sizes.”
Vance began by rattling off his biography before saying that “Donald Trump actually delivered stability in the world” by creating “deterrence” and “peace through strength.”
Walz responded that Trump’s “fickle leadership” helped Iran get near a weapon by backing out of a U.S.-led nuclear deal and that “we need the steady leadership that Kamala Harris is providing.”
Walz, Vance shake hands before debate begins
Walz and Vance shook hands before the debate started.
There was no handshake during the last vice presidential debate because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Candidates take the stage
Vance and Walz started at their podiums for tonight’s debate, so far the only scheduled matchup between the two vice presidential nominees.
Tonight’s viewers have largely already made up their mind
Debates are big deals, and it’s tempting to treat tonight like a potential game-changer in the campaign. But the reality is, most people who are planning to watch tonight aren’t still candidate-shopping. A YouGov/CBS News poll from late last week asked people who were planning to watch the debate why they were planning to do so; 71% said to root for their party’s candidate and 61% said to see if the other side made a mistake. Only 24% said to help them decide who to vote for.
—538’s Nathaniel Rakich
‘It’s game time’: Harris
Vice President Kamala Harris gave her running mate a good luck sendoff in a post on X less than 10 minutes before the debate started.
“@TimWalz, it’s game time,” she said. “I am excited for the country to see you in action.”
-ABC News’ Oren Oppenheim_
Springfield voters want ‘fewer memes, more solutions’ from the campaigns
The Ohio town was at the center of a political firestorm after Vance and Trump amplified false claims that Haitian migrants were eating people’s pets.
Voters there told ABC News’ Terry Moran what they want to hear from both campaigns in these final weeks of the race.
“They know the city is on a recovering path,” Moran said. “What they want is practical, pragmatic solutions to the problems they face. If there are going to be immigrants in this community that don’t speak the language, they need more help with the translation. They need more resources for primary care, for school teachers.”
“They want to hear fewer memes, more solutions.”
Read more about what unfolded in Springfield and Vance’s false claims about the migrants there.
Trump’s advice to Vance: ‘Have fun’
Former President Trump said he told his running mate to “have fun” ahead of tonight’s debate.
“He’s a smart guy. He’s been amazing. He’s been a real warrior,” Trump said of Vance during a campaign event in Milwaukee.
Gwen Walz sends husband well-wishes before debate
Minnesota first lady Gwen Walz sent her husband well-wishes in a post on X prior to the debate.
“Tim has always held true to the values he grew up with: loving your country, helping your neighbor, and fighting for what’s right.” she wrote.
“We’re so proud of you, Tim.”
Tim has always held true to the values he grew up with: loving your country, helping your neighbor, and fighting for what’s right.
Vance, at 40, is the first millennial on a major party ticket and has only been a politician for two years. He was elected to the Senate in 2022.
Walz, who is 60, has been in government for decades. He successfully ran for Congress in 2005 and served for six terms. He became the governor of Minnesota in 2018 and was reelected in 2022.
Still, some commonalities exist: both are military veterans and they each bring Midwest bona fides to their respective tickets.
Vance arrives at debate site
Vance has arrived at CBS Studios for the debate.
-ABC News’ Hannah Demissie
Walz arrives at CBS Studios in NYC for debate
Walz’s motorcade has arrived at CBS Studios in New York City for the debate. Vance is en route.
-ABC News’ Isabella Murray and Hannah Demissie
Political analysts weigh in on what Vance, Walz need to do to win
Reince Priebus and Donna Brazile joined ABC News Live to discuss what the goals are for Vance and Walz tonight.
“They have one thing to do: to show they can be president and to show the American people that they’re likable,” said Priebus, who served as chief of staff in the Trump White House.
Priebus also stressed the need to reach “uncommitted voters” and discuss what they want to hear. For Republicans, he said, the key issue is the economy, while Democrats will want to hear about health care.
Brazile, a Democratic Party operative, said Walz has to focus on how the Biden-Harris administration has lowered costs and tackled inflation while also bringing back manufacturing jobs.
“So I think that winner of this debate will be able to talk about those kitchen table issues that will be relatable to the American people. Let’s abort all the conversations about childless women and cats and dogs, and instead address those concerns,” she said.
Biden sends well-wishes to Walz in social media post
President Joe Biden sent well-wishes to Walz in a post on X from his campaign account on Tuesday night ahead of the CBS News vice presidential debate.
“Coach, I got your back tonight! Tonight, America will see the strong, principled, and effective leader I’ve known for years—and the contrast you and Kamala provide against the other team,” Biden wrote.
Coach, I got your back tonight!
Tonight, America will see the strong, principled, and effective leader I’ve known for years—and the contrast you and Kamala provide against the other team. pic.twitter.com/7ojASvwkjw
Stefanik, in spin room, says Iran’s latest attacks raise stakes of national security issues
Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., surrogating for Vance, predicted that Iran’s attacks Tuesday on Israel could be a part of the debate questions, saying the latest development in the Middle East has raised the stakes of the importance of national security issues.
“I think that as the American people are seeing the unprecedented hypersonic ballistic missile attack directly from Iran launched into multiple quantities, that raises the stakes,” she said in the spin room. “It also provides an opportunity for JD Vance to compare the peace through strength, and the peace, specifically in the Middle East under President Trump, versus this catastrophe that we’re seeing around the world.”
-ABC News’ Soo Rin Kim
Harris, in fundraising pitch, says Walz ‘is ready’ to debate Vance
Vice President Harris, in a fundraising pitch email to supporters, said Walz “is ready” to debate Vance.
“In just hours, Tim Walz will debate JD Vance,” she wrote. “I know that he is ready. And it would help if he knew donors like you had his back before he got on stage.”
Harris added that “Tim has been an outstanding partner out on the campaign trail over the last two months,” and “I have the utmost confidence in the team we’ve built.”
-ABC News’ Fritz Farrow
Biden has ‘complete confidence’ in Walz: White House
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre wouldn’t say during the White House press briefing on Tuesday whether President Joe Biden would watch the vice presidential debate, but she said the president has “complete confidence” in Walz.
“He continues to be very busy with all of the events happening today,” she said during Tuesday’s briefing. “But he has complete confidence in Tim Walz.”
Gabbard predicts ‘stark contrast’ between Walz and Vance during debate
Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard spoke to ABC News Live on Tuesday where she criticized Walz’s lack of media interviews, predicting that it will show in the debate.
“I think there’s going to be a stark contrast here, given JD Vance has been out on the road doing multiple interviews,” she told ABC News Live. “I think he’s done more interviews than any candidate in this election, whereas Tim Walz has been very quiet on that front.”
“I think this opportunity tonight, I hope, will not be more of the same kind of political theater that we’ve seen in so many of these debates, but actual substantive discussion and debate and accountability,” Gabbard — who endorsed Trump — continued.
Ahead of Tuesday’s debate, Adrienne Elrod, Harris campaign senior adviser and spokesperson, made an appearance on ABC News Live and said that Walz is taking it “very, very seriously.”
“Gov. Walz is taking this debate very, very seriously because you understand the magnitude of this moment,” Elrod said. “He’s going to continue to really talk about the Harris-Walz priorities, what their administration would look like, lowering costs for middle class families, protecting the Affordable Care Act, not getting rid of it.”
-ABC News’ Casey McShea
CBS News says mics won’t be muted for VP debate
CBS News, the network hosting the debate, said that the candidates’ microphones will not be muted, but clarified in a press release that it “reserves the right to turn off candidate microphones.”
This is a shift from the CNN presidential debate in June and the ABC News presidential debate held earlier this month, where microphones were muted unless it was the candidate’s turn to speak.
Emmer says Vance will hold Walz ‘accountable’ during VP debate
Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., praised Vance on “This Week” Sunday, saying the Ohio senator will do a “great job” on Tuesday night and that “he’s got the issues on his side.”
“Vance could talk about the economy that Donald Trump fixed and that Harris and Biden broke. He can talk about the border that Trump fixed and they broke. He can talk about peace and stability around the world, which they don’t even have a clue [about]; they’ve caused all of this disruption,” Emmer said. “Once he understands that Tim Walz is just going to try and deflect and go into this folksy whatever, he’ll hold him accountable.”
-ABC News’ Hannah Demissie
Why VP debates aren’t all that important
Typically, fewer people watch vice presidential debates than presidential debates. And while presidential debates are historically one of the few things that can actually make a dent in the polls, vice presidential debates don’t have the same track record.
According to Nielsen, since 2008, presidential debates have drawn an average audience of 65.7 million people. But vice presidential debates have drawn an average of just 54.1 million viewers. But 54.1 million people is still a pretty big audience — so have past vice presidential debates actually changed the trajectory of the race?
That turns out to be a tricky question to answer. Read more here.
-538’s Nathaniel Rakich and Amina Brown
How to watch the VP debate
The 90-minute debate will air on CBS and be simulcast on the ABC network and stream on ABC News Live.
ABC pre-debate coverage begins at 8 p.m. ET; post-debate ABC News coverage will go on until 11 p.m. ET. ABC News Live, ABC News’ 24/7 streaming news channel, will provide full coverage beginning at 7 p.m. ET and run through 12 a.m. ET.
Former President Donald Trump told Kellyanne Conway on Monday morning that the debate will be stacked against his running mate. He also remained undecided on a second debate against Vice President Kamala Harris.
“So, I’d rather debate. I’d rather have another one. The problem is, we’re so far down the line,” Trump said.
Trump claimed the debates are “so stacked,” adding, “you’ll see it tomorrow with JD. It’ll be stacked.”
While on the campaign trail last weekend, Harris used Tuesday night’s debate to goad Trump into accepting a second debate, saying that it shouldn’t be the “last word.”
-ABC News’ Kelsey Walsh and Gabriella Abdul-Hakim
Vance is prepared for debate: Trump campaign
Vance is prepared for his debate against Walz, said Jason Miller, the Trump campaign senior adviser, on Monday.
The Ohio senator has turned to Minnesota Rep. Tom Emmer to help him in debate rehearsals by playing Walz, sources familiar with the plans told ABC News. One of the sources said Emmer was invited to be the stand-in so Vance could prepare to take on the governor’s folksy personality.
-ABC News’ Hannah Demissie
Where’s Walz? From under the radar to the VP debate spotlight
In the eight weeks since being selected by Harris to join the ticket, Walz — originally thought to be a dark-horse selection coming from behind to beat out some better-known national figures — has effectively barnstormed the country.
“I think this is a big moment for him. Up till now, he’s been heavily managed and carefully guarded,” said Larry Jacobs, the director of the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance at the University of Minnesota. “Now he’s going to be out there on the stage, and if he makes mistakes or comes off as not quite as authentic as he’s been claiming, I think it’ll be damaging to him, and he might make mistakes.”
Walz will not be in the spin room after the debate, according to the Harris-Walz campaign.
Seven surrogates will spin for him instead, including Sens. Mark Kelly, Amy Klobuchar, Ben Ray Luján; Govs. Jared Polis and JB Pritzker; Rep. Jasmine Crockett and Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison.
-ABC News’ Isabella Murray
Vance to visit spin room after debate
Vance will go to the spin room following his debate with Walz, according to a source familiar with the plan.
He also participated in the spin room after former President Donald Trump’s debate against Vice President Kamala Harris in September.
Politico was first to report Vance’s plans.
-ABC News’ Hannah Demissie
Walz ‘looking forward’ to debate
While campaigning around Petoskey, Michigan, on Monday, Walz said that his “focus” was on Hurricane Helene and its destruction across the southeast, even while “looking forward” to the debate.
To prepare for Tuesday night, Walz used Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg as a Vance stand-in, who “surprised everyone by showing up to prep in a cheap red tie instead of camp casual attire,” according to a source familiar.
-ABC News’ Isabella Murray
Walz, Vance set for tight-race showdown
Sometimes, vice-presidential debates tend not to matter much and are quickly forgotten.
But tonight’s showdown in New York City could matter more than most given how close the presidential race is at the moment.
Many undecided voters – who could end up deciding the election – will get their first chance to hear at length from the Harris and Trump running mates.
The CBS News debate – where mics will be unmuted and the candidates will have to do their own fact-checking – starts at 9 p.m. ET.
The ABC network will carry the debate live with pre-debate coverage beginning at 8 p.m. ET. ABC News Live will stream pre-debate coverage, the debate and post-debate analysis and ABC News Digital/538 will live blog during the debate with key takeaways afterward.
(WASHINGTON) — Former President Donald Trump has vowed, if he’s elected, to conduct a large-scale deportation operation that some immigration and military experts agree is theoretically possible but also problematic, and could cost tens — even hundreds — of billions a year.
In FY 2023, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers conducted 170,590 administrative arrests, representing a 19.5% increase over the previous year, and more than any year of the Trump presidency.
Should he win a second term, Trump has promised to exponentially increase this work and suggested deporting all of the estimated 11 million people living in this country without legal immigration status.
His team, at various points, has suggested starting with “criminals,” though they have provided few specifics about who would be prioritized.
One cost estimate: $88B – $315B a year
A new report from the American Immigration Council, an immigration rights research and policy firm, estimates that to deport even one million undocumented immigrants a year would cost over $88 billion dollars annually, for a total of $967.9 billion over more than ten years.
The report acknowledges there are significant cost variables depending on how such an operation would be conducted and says its estimate does not take into account the loss of tax revenue from workers nor the bigger economic loss if people self-deport and American businesses lose labor.
A one-time effort to deport even more people in one year annually could cost around $315 billion, the report estimates, including about $167 billion to detain immigrants en masse.
The two largest costs, according to the group, would be hiring additional personal to carry out deportation raids and constructing and staffing mass detention centers. “There would be no way to accomplish this mission without mass detention as an interim step,” the report reads.
Trump campaign official agree one of the biggest logistical hurdles in any mass deportation effort would be constructing and staffing new detention centers as an interim solution.
Stephen Miller, a senior adviser to Trump, has repeatedly said that should Trump win the White House, his team plans to construct facilities to hold between 50,000 – 70,000 people. By comparison, the entire U.S. prison and jail population in 2022, comprising every person held in local, county, state, and federal prisons and jails, is currently 1.9 million people.
The American Immigration Council report estimates that to deport one million immigrants a year would require the United States to “build and maintain 24 times more ICE detention capacity than currently exists.”
There are currently an estimated 1.1 million undocumented immigrants in the country who have received “final orders of removal.” Those individuals, in theory, could be removed immediately by ICE agents, but because of limited resources ICE agents have instead focused lately on those people who have recently arrived or who have dangerous crimes
“I think it is possible that they could execute on this. The human resources would be the hardest for them to overcome. They would have to pull ICE agents from the border if they want to go into cities,” Katie Tobin, a scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace who served as President Joe Biden’s top migration adviser in the National Security Council, told ABC News.
ICE agents currently help Customs and Border Patrol agents on the border, carrying out expedited deportations of new arrivals who have recently crossed into the country illegally and provide logistical support to the Department of Homeland Security.
A new mandate to round up and deport individuals who have been living in the country for some time could mark a significant change for the law enforcement agency.
The American Immigration Council report estimates that to carry out even one million deportations a year, ICE would need to hire around 30,000 new officers, “instantly making it the largest law enforcement agency in the federal government,” the report reads.
Trump campaign: Deportation cost less than migrant costs
The Trump campaign has argued the cost of deportation “pales in comparison” to other costs associated housing and providing social services to recent migrants. “Kamala’s border invasion is unsustainable and is already tearing apart the fabric of our society. Mass deportations of illegal immigrant criminals, and restoring an orderly immigration system, are the only way to solve this crisis,” Karoline Leavitt, national press secretary for Trump’s campaign, told ABC News in a statement.
Trump has promised to mobilize and federalize National Guard units to help with the deportation effort, which would likely be a first for the military.
Under U.S. law, military units are barred from engaging in domestic law enforcement, although Trump has proposed invoking the Insurrection Act, a sweeping law, that could give him broader powers to direct National Guard units as he sees fit.
“We don’t like uniform military in our domestic affairs at all,” William Banks, professor at Syracuse University and Founding Director of the Institute on National Security and Counter Terrorism, told ABC News in a phone interview. “The default is always have the civilians do it. The cops, the state police, the city police, the sheriffs,” he went on.
Using the military for domestic law enforcement would be a fundamental shift, one which Banks argues too few Americans have considered or grappled with.
“It would turn out whole society upside down … all these arguments about him being an autocrat or dictator, it is not a stretch,” he said. For example, uniformed military officers are not trained in law enforcement and if they were asked to conduct civilian arrests there could be significant civil liberties conflicts and violations.
In order to, target and deport immigrants whose have not received “final orders of removal” but whose cases are still pending, Trump has discussed using another rare legal maneuver to himself broad authority to target and detain immigrants without a hearing, specifically invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, a wartime law last used during World War II to detain Japanese Americans.
Trump would also need other nations to accept deported individuals and allow deportation flights to land back on their soil.
Katie Tobin, a scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace who served as President Joe Biden’s top migration adviser on the National Security Council, told ABC News, “Last time the Trump administration did not hesitate to threaten punitive action to countries that didn’t cooperate with them on immigration, but there are some practical issues there in terms of just how many flights a country like Guatemala or Colombia can accept per week.”
There would likely be less tangible and more indirect costs of a mass deportation effort as well. Inevitably there would be ripple effects throughout the economy. In 2022 alone, undocumented immigrant households paid $46.8 billion in federal taxes and $29.3 billion in state and local taxes, according to the report, and “undocumented immigrants also contributed $22.6 billion to Social Security and $5.7 billion to Medicare.”
The human toll
Experts also predict that if a future Trump administration were to follow through with some large, initial and highly visible deportation operation, a significant number of individuals and families would likely choose to self-deport in order to avoid family separations or having to spend time in a military-style detention center.
The authors of the American Immigration Council report argue that the effect of a mass deportation program, as described by Trump and his advisers, would “almost certainly threaten the well-being” of even those immigrants with lawful status in the United States and “even, potentially, naturalized U.S. citizens and their communities.”
“They would live under the shadow of weaponized enforcement as the U.S. went after their neighbors, and, as social scientists found under the Trump administration, would be prone to worry they and their children might be next,” the report says.
In recent interviews and conversations with reporters, Trump’s running mate Ohio Sen. JD Vance has dodged the question of whether a future Trump administration would separate families during a new deportation effort or in detention centers along the border.
“If a guy commits gun violence and is taken to prison, that’s family separation, which, of course, is tragic for the children, but you’ve got to prosecute criminals, and you have to enforce the law,” Vance told reporters in September when visiting the border.
