Trump: 'We're going to be guarding our border with the military' until wall complete

[timosman]

No, it's on the border.

Is there any way I could blame the POTUS however? This guy is a bad role model and I am concerned my kids will not grow up in a country they deserve.

 

[Swordsmyth]

Seems logical that Trump would need a formal declaration of war against Mexico in order to stage troops on the border. How fun.

He would only need one to invade Mexico.

 

[pmbug]

No, the border isn't in Mexico, but legally, as I understand it, we would have to be at war with our neighbor in order for the military to be stationed and engaging in defense activities (not training) domestically (on our side of the border) or it would run afoul of the Posse Comitatus restriction.

 

[Ender]

I’m alright with this.

I have no problem with Mexicans and think the border Wall is stupid, but if the choice is between the Military being overseas being a offensive imperialistic force, or staying at home and protecting the borders I’m voting B every time.

Still think that welfare is the cause of mass movement over the borders. End welfare and the phony drug war and the need for a fence is completely evaporated.

Pretty much.

The thing about this 'caravan", to my understanding, is that this is the 5th year for a march, the people are asking both Mexico & the US for refuge, & last year 3 were allowed in the US but the qualifying process is still going on.

Seems like a whole lotta screaming from DC for something not endangering- maybe to take our eye off the man behind the curtain?

 

[TheTexan]

Military Wall, fuck yea!

 

[TheTexan]

Next step... deport all the zippy Juan's that made it past our border

 

[Todd]

Yeah, this one may be Constitutional (for once). Sending national guard when there is a large group of foriegners threatening invasion is a defensive action.

If it's the "National Guard" then no issue. The National Guard has been doing border patrol duty for many years so that's not unprecedented, but Federal troops is a no go.

I also think we need to tone down the "invasion" rhetoric. More like an Refugee exodus.

 

[Ender]

If it's the "National Guard" then no issue. The National Guard has been doing border patrol duty for many years so that's not unprecedented, but Federal troops is a no go.

I also think we need to tone down the "invasion" rhetoric. More like an Refugee exodus.

Exactly.

 

[Origanalist]

I’m alright with this.

I have no problem with Mexicans and think the border Wall is stupid, but if the choice is between the Military being overseas being a offensive imperialistic force, or staying at home and protecting the borders I’m voting B every time.

Still think that welfare is the cause of mass movement over the borders. End welfare and the phony drug war and the need for a fence is completely evaporated.

This is my take also.

 

[Pauls' Revere]

Seems logical that Trump would need a formal declaration of war against Mexico in order to stage troops on the border. How fun.

when was the last time we "formally" declared war with congressional approval?

 

[specsaregood]

So what exactly is the military going to do? Shoot trespassers? Catch and release according to federal law? If so, whats the point?

 

[TheTexan]

So what exactly is the military going to do? Shoot trespassers? Catch and release according to federal law? If so, whats the point?

We could also throw them in prisons. And they can work off their sentence by building a wall.

 

[TheCount]

I have no problem with Mexicans and think the border Wall is stupid, but if the choice is between the Military being overseas being a offensive imperialistic force, or staying at home and protecting the borders I’m voting B every time.

He's going to use the National Guard for it, which means federalizing more troops and spending even more money, not redirecting the active force away from overseas tasks to domestic tasks.

 

[Brian4Liberty]

So what exactly is the military going to do? Shoot trespassers? Catch and release according to federal law? If so, whats the point?

Trump (and his neocon advisors) are rather fond of Israeli tactics and strategies...

 

[TheTexan]

He's going to use the National Guard for it, which means federalizing more troops and spending even more money, not redirecting the active force away from overseas tasks to domestic tasks.

Of course. We certainly wouldn't want to jeopardize national defense, by bringing our troops home to defend our nation.

 

[TheTexan]

Trump (and his neocon advisors) are rather fond of Israeli tactics and strategies...

We're going to bulldoze their homes and claim their land as ours?

Not a bad strategy actually.

 

[dannno]

Seems like a whole lotta screaming from DC for something not endangering- maybe to take our eye off the man behind the curtain?

It seems to be that the "man behind the curtain" (hint, it's not Trump) is doing everything he can to prevent a border wall from being built.

 

[Superfluous Man]

I’m alright with this.

I have no problem with Mexicans and think the border Wall is stupid, but if the choice is between the Military being overseas being a offensive imperialistic force, or staying at home and protecting the borders I’m voting B every time.

Still think that welfare is the cause of mass movement over the borders. End welfare and the phony drug war and the need for a fence is completely evaporated.

It's hard to disagree with that.

But military protection of the border shouldn't involve stopping peaceful people from crossing it.

I agree with Ron Paul's position that we should be allowed to cross the border without even having to show ID to anyone.

 

[Superfluous Man]

So what exactly is the military going to do? Shoot trespassers? Catch and release according to federal law? If so, whats the point?

It's unlikely that Trump has thought through those nitty gritty details.

 

[Zippyjuan]

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/immigration/sd-me-military-border-20180403-story.html

Federal law limits Trump's proposal to send troops to guard border

President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he hopes to send members of the military to guard the southwest border — an escalation in his push to reduce the number of immigrants coming to the U.S. But without sign off from Congress or Gov. Jerry Brown, federal law will likely block the president’s plans, at least in California.

Since he took office, Trump has criticized U.S. laws that allow people to come to the border and ask for asylum. After reports of a large caravan of migrants traveling through Mexico to seek asylum from violence-stricken Central American countries surfaced over Easter, the president reinforced his push to change what he called “weak” immigration laws.

Trump said he planned to meet with Gen. Jim Mattis, the defense secretary, on Tuesday to discuss options for installing troops at the U.S.-Mexico border.

“The Mexican border is very unprotected by our laws,” Trump said during a news conference with the presidents of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. “We have horrible, horrible, and very unsafe, laws in the United States.”

The White House confirmed that Trump’s strategy involves mobilizing the National Guard.

Trump said the military would remain at the border until his promised border wall is completed. Though Congress has granted $1.6 billion in funding for new and replacement fencing along the border, Trump has not been able to get funding to build a wall fashioned after his prototypes in Otay Mesa.

Everard Meade, director of the Trans Border Institute at University of San Diego, said the president will also have a difficult time installing troops at the border.

“They’ve been using military metaphors and talking about invasions — in that sense, it’s not a surprise, but when you move from political rhetoric to actual policy, I don’t see a legal way to actually do it,” Meade said. “The U.S. Armed Forces are far too professional and risk-averse and rule-bound to accept some vague cowboy mission down there. That’s just not what they do.”

The Posse Comitatus Act, which passed after the Civil War to keep federal troops from policing the South, limits federal troops’ deployment on U.S. soil and forbids using them to enforce domestic laws.

The President can deploy troops if there’s an insurrection or invasion on U.S. soil. Congress later gave the military the ability to provide equipment and personnel for certain drug enforcement operations. The Coast Guard is exempt from the act’s restrictions.

The estimated 1,200 migrants in the caravan would not count as an invasion, Meade said. Border Patrol has also apprehended significantly fewer unauthorized crossers since arrests peaked in 2000, according to data from the agency, which Meade said would also argue against sending military.

Governors can deploy the National Guard in their states to respond to emergencies. Previous presidents have, with governor sign off, used the National Guard to supplement Border Patrol agents during hiring pushes.