Despite being a popular figure among the conservative grassroots, Sen. Rand Paul is opposing a key aspect of Donald Trump’s political agenda.
The Kentucky Senator, who is known for advocating libertarian positions, said in an interview on Newsmax that it would be a “huge mistake” for Trump to use the military to help deport the tens of millions of illegal aliens currently residing in America.
Trump has long insisted that he will use the military to help speed up the deportations, which will inevitably require a huge amount of manpower in order to send these individuals back to where they came from.
Paul, meanwhile, does not agree. He explained:
I think what I would do if I were in charge of the immigration situation would be to first to go after those who have committed crimes. You know, the big news right before the election was that there were 15,000 people in our country who have committed murder, there are about 13,000 that have committed sex crimes, violent sex crimes. That’s 28,000 people. Why don’t we start with that 28,000?
I’m not in favor of sending the army in uniforms into our cities to collect people. I think it’s a terrible image. And that’s not what we use our military for, we never have. And it’s actually been illegal for over 100 years to bring the army into our cities. The army and our military are trained to shoot the enemy. They’re not trained to get a warrant to do what they’re doing.
The police have a difficult job, but the people removing people from our country need to be a police enforcement domestic agency, not the military. So while I’m all for ‘Remain in Mexico,’ I will not support an emergency to put the army into our cities. I think that’s a huge mistake.
I’m not for really most presidential emergencies because they smack of martial rule. They smack of no congressional approval. They smack of no checks and balances. So, look, I’m supportive of President Trump. I’m supportive of removing people illegally here, particularly people who have committed crimes.
But I’m not for the Army marching up and down our streets. I think it’s a terrible image to send to the world. It’s a terrible image for us as citizens. And so I hope he will think twice about trying to use an emergency edict to have the army patrolling our country.
Ever the political maverick, Paul also refused to endorse Donald Trump in the run-up to the presidential election but still insists he is “supportive” of his agenda.
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