Homeland Security Requests 20,000 National Guard Troops for Immigration Enforcement

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The Department of Homeland Security requested 20,000 National Guard troops to be used not only along the border, but also to help track down and detain undocumented immigrants already within the USA.

National Guard units are regarded as military, but belong to their respective states. Texas Governor Greg Abbott created a template for using them to get around restrictions on the national military in 2021. Abbott deployed thousands of state troopers and Texas National Guard members to assist immigration enforcement along the border.

Having established that as acceptable, this year Customs and Border Protection created a memorandum of understanding with the Texas National Guard to grant immigration authority to some Texas National Guard members under CBP supervision.

Officially, the National Guard will be expected to provide support but not help conduct arrests. The Brennan Center said that because National Guard will technically be under state command rather than federal command, the Posse Comitatus Act will not apply to them. That law prohibits the military from performing domestic law enforcement unless the Insurrection Act is invoked. If the Brennan Center is correct, DHS can use National Guard to police and arrest civilians, not just near the border but throughout the country.

Federal military troops deployed along the southern border have not been conducting arrests. They have been patrolling, making barricades and supplying logistical support.

In addition to making an end run around the Posse Comitatus Act, DHS also appears to be shifting federal costs onto other shoulders. National Guard units are state units. The federal government typically reimburses states for deploying National Guard within the nation, such as to help with disaster response. It is not at all clear that the federal government intends to pay for its use of National Guard troops in this operation.

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