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DHS Secretary Denies Deportations are a Military Operation, Contradicting Trump

HeadlineFeb 24, 2017

In Mexico, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly insisted Thursday the U.S. would not carry out “mass deportations” and that President Trump’s deportation program was not a “military operation,” contradicting a statement made by Trump just hours earlier. Kelly was on a two-day visit with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson aimed at smoothing U.S.-Mexico relations.

Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly: “And again, listen to this: No—repeat, no—use of military force in immigration operations. None. So, again, I repeat, there will be no use of military forces in immigration.”

Kelly’s comments came after Trump told a gathering of corporate CEOs at the White House his deportation program was in fact a “military operation.”

President Donald Trump: “We’re getting really bad dudes out of this country and at a rate that nobody’s ever seen before. And they’re the bad ones. And it’s a military operation.”

Mexico has rejected Donald Trump’s pledge that he will force Mexico to pay for an expanded wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. Mexico’s foreign minister also denounced new rules authorizing the U.S. to deport undocumented immigrants to Mexico, whether or not they are Mexican citizens.

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