Garamendi Sends Letter Demanding Answers from Pentagon Over Use of Military Assets in Trump’s Mass Deportation

WASHINGTON, DC— On Friday, U.S. Representative John Garamendi (D-CA-08), a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee and Ranking Member of the Readiness Subcommittee, released the following statement regarding his letter sent to Acting Secretary of Defense Robert Salesses after public reporting of the use of military aircraft to deport undocumented immigrants:  

“President Trump's use of military aircraft to enforce his immigration policy is deeply alarming, potentially unconstitutional, and a blatant abuse of presidential power. What is worse is the Posse Comitatus Act explicitly prohibits using active-duty military personnel for domestic law enforcement functions. Pulling U.S. troops and taxpayer resources from life-threatening disasters to support immigration enforcement is dangerous, inappropriate, wasteful, and a direct threat to our democratic principles.   

“The American people deserve answers about what legal authority the Department of Defense utilized to authorize these activities, if the DOD is respecting the laws and norms prohibiting the use of the military for domestic policing activity, and what impacts these diversions will have on our national defense readiness. It is imperative they do so promptly, considering critical resources are being diverted from supporting the firefighting efforts in Southern California and the multiple threats from adversaries in the Pacific theater and others around the world. We cannot go down this very dark path that Donald Trump is taking us. It’s time for real political solutions that restore order and dignity to our immigration system, not dangerous and wasteful political stunts.” said Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA-08).