The White House has denied reports that it is considering mobilizing as many as 100,000 National Guard troops to conduct an unprecedented roundup of undocumented immigrants across the country.
The Associated Press first reported that the White House was mulling the idea, based on an 11-page memo the AP said it had obtained. It is not clear who authored that memo, and the AP has not released it.
The draft memo is dated January 25 and has been circulating among homeland security officials for over two weeks, the Associated Press reported. The memo listed 11 states where National Guard troops would be mobilized but remain under state control: California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oregon, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana. Spokespersons for the governors of eight of those states told the AP they were unaware of the proposal.
The AP says it reached out to the White House and Department of Homeland Security for comment, but neither responded. Only after the AP published its story this morning did White House spokesman Sean Spicer tell NBC News that the story was “100 percent” false.
