Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said Tuesday on Newsmax TV's “Rob Schmidt Tonight” that President-elect Donald Trump's purported plan to use the military as part of deportations is “It was a big mistake,” he said.
Paul said: “If I were in charge of immigration, the first thing I would do would be to go after people who have committed crimes. You know, the big news right before the election was that there were 15,000 murders in our country, 15,000 people committing sex crimes, , there are about 13,000 people who have committed violent sex crimes. That's 28,000. Why not start with that 28,000?”
He continued, “I'm not in favor of sending uniformed troops into cities to gather people. I think it's a terrible image. And that's not what we use the military for, and we And in fact, introducing troops into our cities has been illegal for over 100 years. The Army and our military are trained to shoot at the enemy. They don't have the training to get warrants to do what they're doing. Police work is difficult, but it needs to be the domestic arm of the police, not the military, that removes people from our country. So, while I'm all for “remaining in Mexico,” I'm not in favor of sending troops into cities in case of an emergency. I think that's a big mistake. ”
Host Rob Schmidt asked, “Do you think that's President Trump's intention?”
Paul said, “That's what he said yesterday, or what his spokesperson said, there was all talk that he was going to declare a state of emergency to use the military to remove people. I'm not. Most presidential emergencies have a whiff of military rule, so I'm not really into them. They don't seem to have any parliamentary approval. They have no checks and balances at all. So, look, I support President Trump. I support removing people here illegally, especially those who have committed crimes. But I support troops marching through the streets. I don't agree with that. I think it's a terrible image to send to the world. It's a terrible image for us as a people. That's why I want him to use an emergency edict to patrol our country. I hope you reconsider.”
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