The Deep
State continues to obstruct Trump’s ability to protect the US border. This time
it restricts National Guard troops from functioning as border patrol agents.
See below:
Trump Wants
the U.S. Military 'To Secure' the U.S.-Mexico Border, by Damon Root, 4/3/18
If the president sends active-duty Army troops to the border without congressional approval, he will be acting in violation of federal law.
Posse Comitatus and Martial Law - The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 prohibits the use of U.S. military forces to perform the tasks of civilian law enforcement such as arrest, apprehension, interrogation, and detention unless explicitly authorized by Congress.
Donald Trump said today that he is "preparing for the
military to secure" the U.S. border with Mexico. "We have very bad
laws for our border," Trump declared. "Until we can have a wall and proper security, we're
going to be guarding our border with the military."
Trump offered no additional details, so it's not clear exactly
what sort of military personnel he has in mind for the border security job.
Depending on how he plans to proceed, his hands may already be tied by federal
law.
Under the terms of the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, no part of the
Army or Air Force may be used for domestic law enforcement purposes
"except in cases and under circumstances expressly authorized by the
Constitution or Act of Congress." The act also applies to the Marines and
the Navy via Department of Defense regulations, though not to the Coast Guard,
which routinely performs domestic maritime police work.
The restrictions set by the Posse Comitatus Act do not apply to
National Guard troops, however, when those troops are operating under state
authority. In recent years, such troops have performed border security work. In
2008, for example, President George W. Bush launched "Operation Jump Start," in which 6,000 National Guard troops were deployed
to California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas to offer various forms of border
control assistance. President Barack Obama did much the same, deploying 1,200 National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border in
2010.
In short, if President Trump attempts to place active-duty Army
troops at the U.S. border without congressional approval, he will be acting in
violation of federal law. If he sends National Guard troops to the border, and
those troops work with state authorities, he will be following in the footsteps
of recent presidents.
The Posse Comitatus Act, signed into law by President Rutherford B. Hayes on June 18, 1878,
limits the power of the federal government in the use of
federal military personnel to enforce U.S. laws and domestic policies within the borders
of the United States.
The law was passed as an
amendment to an army appropriation bill following the end of Reconstruction and
was subsequently amended in 1956 and 1981.
As originally enacted in 1878, the Posse Comitatus Act applied
only to the U.S. Army but was amended in 1956 to include the Air Force. In
addition, the Department of the Navy has enacted regulations intended to apply
the Posse Comitatus Act restrictions to the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps.
The Posse Comitatus Act does not apply to the Army National
Guard and the Air National Guard when acting in a law enforcement capacity
within its own state when ordered by the governor of that state or in an
adjacent state if invited by that state’s governor.
Operating under the Department of Homeland Security, the U.S.
Coast Guard is not covered by the Posse Comitatus Act. While the Coast Guard is
an “armed service,” it also has both a maritime law enforcement mission and a
federal regulatory agency mission.
The Posse Comitatus Act was originally enacted due to the
feeling of many members of Congress at the time that President Abraham Lincoln
had exceeded his authority during the Civil War by suspending habeas corpus and creating military courts with jurisdiction over
civilians.
It should be noted that the Posse Comitatus Act greatly limits,
but does not eliminate the power of the President of the United States to declare
"martial law," the assumption of all civilian police powers by the
military.
The president, under his or her constitutional powers to put
down insurrection, rebellion, or invasion, may declare martial law when local
law enforcement and court systems have ceased to function.
For example, after the
bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, President Roosevelt declared
martial law in Hawaii at the request of the territorial governor.
Norb Leahy, Dunwoody
GA Tea Party Leader
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