Report: DHS considering using National Guard for immigration 'round up'

National Guard to round up unauthorized immigrants.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

The Department of Homeland Security has written a draft memo proposing the mobilization of up to 100,000 National Guard troops in an effort to capture unauthorized immigrants, The Associated Press reported Friday.

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer strongly denied that the Trump administration is considering such a deployment and the document does not appear to have come from the White House. A Department of Homeland Security official told reporter Dorey Scheimer that the memo was "a very early, pre-decisional draft … and was never seriously considered by the Department." Homeland Security spokesman David Lapan told Axios that The Associated Press' earlier report that Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly authored the memo is incorrect.

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.