Trump confirms plans to use military for mass deportations

• A Truth Social post early Monday is the first time the president-elect has confirmed how his administration will execute the controversial plan.

Driving the news: Tom Fitton, the president of the conservative group Judicial Watch, posted on Truth Social earlier this month that Trump was "prepared to declare a national emergency and will use military assets to reverse the Biden invasion through a mass deportation program."

• Trump reposted Fitton's comment Monday with the caption, "TRUE!!"

The big picture: There are an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. Trump's mass deportations are expected to impact roughly 20 million families across the country.

• Immigration advocates and lawyers are preparing to counter the plan in court.
• The president-elect's team is aiming to craft executive orders that can withstand legal challenges to avoid a similar defeat that befell Trump's Muslim ban in his first term, Politico reported.
• Their plans also include ending the parole program for undocumented immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela, per Politico.

Zoom out: Trump has also already begun filling out his Cabinet positions with immigration hardliners.

• This includes tapping Tom Homan, the former acting head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), to serve as his "border czar."
• In addition, Trump nominated South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem as his secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Go deeper: How Trump's plan for mass deportations fits into U.S. history