February 17, 2017 08:32 AM UTC

BREAKING: Trump Considers Mobilizing Colorado National Guard

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• by: Colorado Pols

UPDATE: The White House denies the AP’s report, while 9NEWS’ Kyle Clark notes the politics:

AP says plan would allow governors to opt out. @hickforco clearly would. Now a question for Republicans running for Gov. #copolitics #9news https://t.co/vASjMOUhiU

— Kyle Clark (@KyleClark) February 17, 2017

You seem like a smart guy, Kirk. Think about why the WH would decline comment, wait for the story, then declare it fake news. #copolitics https://t.co/scLKHoSqOa

— Kyle Clark (@KyleClark) February 17, 2017

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Breaking moments ago from the Associated Press:

The Trump administration is considering a proposal to mobilize as many as 100,000 National Guard troops to round up unauthorized immigrants, including millions living nowhere near the Mexico border, according to a draft memo obtained by The Associated Press.

The 11-page document calls for the unprecedented militarization of immigration enforcement as far north as Portland, Oregon, and as far east as New Orleans, Louisiana.

Four states that border on Mexico are included in the proposal — California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas — but it also encompasses seven states contiguous to those four — Oregon, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, [Pols emphasis] Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana.

…While National Guard personnel have been used to assist with immigration-related missions on the U.S.-Mexico border before, they have never been used as broadly or as far north.

The report claims that governors in the affected states will have the option to not participate in this mobilization of National Guard forces to round up undocumented immigrants, and it’s our assumption that Gov. John Hickenlooper will have no part in any such plan–despite the enormous pressure we expect would be brought to bear for him to take part.

I asked Trump’s Colo. campaign director if mass roundup would require military. He said (in Nov) it’d never really happen #copolitics #9News https://t.co/vASjMOUhiU

— Kyle Clark (@KyleClark) February 17, 2017

Readers, the implications of this story–a massive domestic military operation to round up and deport millions of people from the United States–are too great to enumerate in our forum. It’s true that President Donald Trump’s rhetoric on the campaign trail forced us all to contemplate what the fulfillment of his campaign pledges would look like–but even since taking office and attempting to keep some of his worst promises, there was a sense that it could only go so far.

Well folks, as of right now, there is no such firewall. And our worst fears are coming true.