Trump suggests he'd use military to deport illegals if National Guard proves insufficient

Former President Donald Trump suggested he may use the military to deport millions of illegal immigrants if the National Guard cannot complete the task.

In an April 12 interview with TIME published Tuesday, Trump said that he would use local law enforcement, the National Guard, and if necessary, the military to deport the 15-20 million illegal immigrants from the U.S.

"We will be using local law enforcement," Trump said. "And we will absolutely start with the criminals that are coming in. And they're coming in in numbers that we've never seen before."

"But I think in terms of the National Guard. But if I thought things were getting out of control, I would have no problem using the military, per se," he later added. "We have to have safety in our country. We have to have law and order in our country. And whichever gets us there, but I think the National Guard will do the job."

When TIME asked how Trump would use the military within the U.S. since the Posse Comitatus Act prevents using the military against civilians, he responded, "[w]ell, these aren't civilians. These are people that aren't legally in our country. This is an invasion of our country. An invasion like probably no country has ever seen before. They're coming in by the millions. I believe we have 15 million now. And I think you'll have 20 million by the time this ends. And that's bigger than almost every state."

"I can see myself using the National Guard and, if necessary, I'd have to go a step further," he continued. "We have to do whatever we have to do to stop the problem we have. Again, we have a major force that's forming in our country, when you see that over the last three weeks, 29,000 people came in from China, and they're all fighting age, and they're mostly males. Yeah, you have to do what you have to do to stop crime and to stop what's taking place at the border."