Trump Says He’d Use Local Police For His Massive Immigration Crackdown

Donald Trump says he’d make local and state police departments participate in a massive immigration crackdown if he wins a second term in the White House, even though he wouldn’t have the authority to do this.

In an interview with Time published Tuesday, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee said if he wins the election in November, his immigration plans include setting up migrant detention camps along the U.S.-Mexico border and deploying the military nationwide to deport millions of immigrants living in the U.S. illegally.

“We’re going to be using local police,” Trump said, “because local police know them by name, by first name, second name and third name. I mean, they know them very well.”

U.S. presidents don’t have the authority to order local and state police departments to carry out immigration policies run by the federal government. Asked to elaborate on his plans on this, Trump vaguely threatened that they could lose federal money if they don’t play a role in his crackdown.

“There’s a possibility that some won’t want to participate, and they won’t partake in the riches, you know,” said the Republican presidential hopeful. “We have to do this. This is not a sustainable problem for our country.”

Asked if that means he would create funding incentives from the U.S. government for state and local police, Trump said only, “It could very well be.”

The twice-impeached former president, who is facing 88 felony counts in four criminal cases, has made immigration policy a centerpiece of his 2024 campaign. He’s vowed to carry out “the largest domestic deportation operation in American history,” and has been using ugly rhetoric to describe immigrants coming into the U.S. illegally, many of whom are fleeing violence in their home countries. Trump’s regular talk of an immigrant “invasion” has now spread from the margins of his party to mainstream messaging.

He has previously said he wants to use local police for his mass deportation plans, but what’s evolved here is his mention of federal dollars being on the line for local police who don’t participate.

In his Time interview, Trump said in rambling remarks that he also wants to give local police immunity from prosecution if they participate in his mass deportation plans.

“I want to give police immunity from prosecution because the liberal groups or the progressive groups, depending on what they want to be called, somewhat liberal, somewhat progressive, but they are — they’re very strong on the fact that they want to leave everybody in, I guess, I don’t know,” he said.

Asked to explain what he meant, Trump said police have had their authority “taken away.” He then continued rambling.

“If something happens with them, even if they’re doing a very good job, they take away their house, they take away their pension, they take away their, I mean, essentially, they end up losing their families over it,” he said. “They take away everything. They prosecute people. And we have to give the police back the power and respect that they deserve.”