The No. 3 House Republican refused to say whether it was legal for President Donald Trump to expel American citizens to foreign prisons on Sunday.
“I think right now, what he’s doing is absolutely legal, which is removing those that do not have legal status in this country that have proven to be the worst of the worst,” Emmer said on CNN’s State of the Union.
In his first three months, the Trump administration has instituted a sweeping deportation purge that includes immigration raids in major cities and the use of the Alien Enemies Act, an 18th-century wartime law to expel people deemed a national security threat. The efforts have been met with various legal challenges, the most prominent being the wrongful deportation of Maryland resident Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
During an Oval Office meeting last week, Trump told Salvadorian President Nayib Bukele that “homegrowns are next” to be deported, adding that he had ordered Attorney General Pam Bondi to study whether the effort to deport American citizens was legally viable.
CNN host Dana Bash repeatedly tried to get his thoughts on the matter.
“What about the idea that the White House says that it is looking into whether or not U.S. citizens who are convicted of violent crimes can be imprisoned in El Salvador?” she asked.
Emmer deflected.
“Well, again, what they’re focused on and what you and I are focusing on is what’s actually happening, which is deporting terrorist cartel members, rapists, murderers, the worst of the worst is exactly what Donald Trump promised during the campaign,” Emmer said. “And that’s why 77 million people elected him to follow through on this promise, and that’s what they’re doing.”
Bash remained undeterred: “I just want to give you one more chance to say whether or not you’re okay with U.S. citizens, the idea of it, I know it’s not happening, but he has actively said more than once that they are looking into it. Would you be okay with that?”
Emmer refused to give his position, instead using the opportunity to hail Trump and his immigration crackdown and attack Democrats.
“I’ve got a president who wants to protect U.S. citizens from violence, from crime, having their children solicited, murdered, et cetera, versus Democrats who seem to want to protect illegal aliens in this country for whatever reason,” he said.
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