In Just One CNN Exchange, We Witnessed How Far Liberals Will Go to Undermine Trump's Deportation Plan

By the latter stages of the 2024 election cycle, the Biden administration finally decided to address illegal immigration and the border crisis. But by that time, the damage was already done.

In May, the Republican members of the House Committee on Homeland Security projected that by the end of fiscal year 2024, the Biden administration would have overseen 10 million illegal immigrant encounters at U.S. borders. Thanks to policies like catch-and-release and a backlog of dubious asylum claims, this wasn’t just a crisis; it was a full-blown catastrophe.

President-elect Donald Trump vowed to tackle this issue head-on, committing to using legal authority he hadn’t invoked in his first term: deploying the U.S. military to begin deporting illegal immigrants and halting the crisis.

The American public agrees. While the popular vote technically doesn’t matter, Trump is leading in that count, and more importantly, he’s already secured 312 electoral votes, effectively sweeping the states he campaigned in. This is a clear mandate to address the border crisis, leaving Democrats scrambling.

This enforcement shouldn’t be controversial; it reflects the will of voters who are tired of policies designed to enable unchecked immigration. Yet Democrats, operating on the belief that "demographics is destiny," are panicking. During a CNN panel discussion that quickly went viral, liberal activist Paul Rieckhoff revealed the left’s strategy: make enforcement of immigration law as excruciating as possible.

The conversation followed Trump’s statement on Truth Social confirming his plans to declare a national emergency and use military resources for a mass deportation effort. As Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton explained, “Trump is prepared to declare a national emergency and will use military assets to reverse the Biden invasion through a mass deportation program,” per Fox News.

While this approach is entirely legal, it hasn’t been implemented at this scale since the 1950s, when approximately 1.3 million illegal immigrants were deported. However, given the current crisis, voters have given Trump the green light for bold measures.

The obstacle? Democrats and liberal activists are already vowing to resist enforcement of the law:

During the CNN discussion, Rieckhoff claimed the U.S. military could face domestic resistance while attempting to enforce immigration law. “The challenge of sorting through them is mammoth. We had a hard time doing it in Iraq, OK?” he said, adding, “Trying to ask [the military] to sort through who’s who and implement a policy like this here in the United States is like nothing we’ve ever seen... Maybe the only precedent we have is internment camps during World War II against Japanese-Americans.”

This comparison is absurd. Deporting individuals who entered the country illegally and lack legal standing is not equivalent to the internment of U.S. citizens during WWII. Yet Rieckhoff persisted.

Conservative commentator Scott Jennings stepped in to clarify: “You’ve twice now insinuated that Trump’s going to send the military to round up American citizens, which is totally false,” he said. “There are 1.3 to 1.6 million illegal immigrants in this country today who have already received deportation orders from a court. You can start there."

Jennings continued: “There’s another population... that have either committed violent crimes in the United States or committed violent crimes where they came from. That has nothing to do with the people in your neighborhood... It has to do with getting people out of the country who do not belong here.”

Rieckhoff pushed back, questioning the logistics of military deployment for deportations. Jennings explained that the military would work alongside local officials and law enforcement, leveraging resources from county sheriffs and other authorities. Yet Rieckhoff remained fixated on potential protests and resistance, suggesting it would create chaos akin to wartime scenarios.

Host John Berman intervened, asking Rieckhoff about the message voters sent in the election. Even Rieckhoff conceded that voters demanded action, stating, “I think broadly across partisan lines, there is almost universal need for people to do something about it. What you do about it is a totally different story.”

Rieckhoff then predicted protests and unrest if Trump’s deportation plans moved forward, claiming, “If you go into any American city and start setting up encampments to put whoever in there you want, there are going to be citizens who are going to protest. There are going to be journalists... and really daunting challenges for a 19-year-old holding a weapon in an American street.”

Jennings summed up the issue perfectly: “What’s the alternative? To let the crisis continue?”

Rieckhoff retorted with vague calls for "middle grounds," but his earlier comments revealed the truth: Democrats plan to obstruct the enforcement of immigration laws through fear-mongering and civil resistance.

This is the Democratic playbook — to ensure that the enforcement of immigration law becomes so politically and logistically fraught that it doesn’t happen. Their so-called “middle ground” solutions? Empty promises of more immigration judges and nominal border security measures, ensuring the crisis drags on indefinitely.

Make no mistake: the left will resist at every level — from local officials to activist groups — to preserve their open-border policies. The right to illegal immigration has become sacred to the Democrats, and they’re willing to fight voters, the law, and even the military to protect it.

If this is how they discuss immigration enforcement on CNN, imagine the chaos when these plans are implemented. This is only the beginning.