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"TRUE!!!"
That's president-elect Donald Trump's response to a post on his social media platform claiming that he plans to declare a "national emergency" and use the US armed forces to abduct and deport immigrants on a very large scale.
It's not a good idea to bet the ranch on campaign promises, especially Trump's. In 2016, he was going to build a big, beautiful wall and make Mexico pay for it, but instead he ended up illegally misappropriating US taxpayer funds to build a partial, ineffectual, symbolic wall.
Which, by the way, Joe Biden continued construction on, just as he largely continued Trump's other immigration polices, which in turn were pale copies of Barack Obama's immigration policies, differing only in his screeching that Obama and Biden supported "open borders" even though they each abducted more immigrants than Trump ever managed to.
But we should, I suppose, at least entertain the notion that Trump really means this one, and that he's stupid and evil enough to give it the old college try.
As I've explained many times, I'm no "constitutionalist," but since those who rule us claim to be both empowered to do so by, and obedient to, the US Constitution, I'm all for holding them to it ... and letting them suffer the consequences of violating it.
Item One: The US Constitution forbids the US government to regulate immigration with the sole exception of imposing a small head tax (see Article I, Section 9; Article V, and Amendment X).
Item Two: The US Constitution forbids government at all levels to infringe the right to keep and bear arms (see Amendment II).
Item Three: Laws repugnant to the Constitution are void (see Madison v. Marbury).
QED, when someone attempts to abduct, cage, or deport an immigrant, even under color of one of those void unconstitutional "immigration laws," that person is just a common criminal, attempting to commit a violent crime. The prospective victim, and/or others acting in the defense of the prospective victim, are entitled by both right and constitutional protection to resist, up to and including the use of deadly force.
Would I rather it didn't come to that? Absolutely. I'd rejoice if the country's ICE agents and such voluntarily handed in their gang colors and returned to useful jobs in the private sector.
But if they need stronger incentives to straighten up and fly right, that's on them.
As my friend Nicky Reid, aka comrade hermit, suggested the last time Trump started in with this nonsense, "we the people" should arm the undocumented.
More than 100 million Americans own hundreds of millions of firearms. If, say, five million of them donated reasonably good handguns to the prospective victims of Trump's deportation plans, ICE agents and the military personnel Trump wants to illegally order to participate in immigrant abductions would soon be finishing their shifts in bags with tags on their toes instead of at home digging in to dinner.
Strong incentives, see?
Stronger still if applied early enough to ensure Trump doesn't even try.
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