Small Wars Journal

White House Approves Use of Force, Some Law Enforcement Roles for Border Troops

Thu, 11/22/2018 - 1:26am

White House Approves Use of Force, Some Law Enforcement Roles for Border Troops by Tara Copp – Military Times

The White House late Tuesday signed a memo allowing troops stationed at the border to engage in some law enforcement roles and use lethal force, if necessary — a move that legal experts have cautioned may run afoul of the Posse Comitatus Act.

The new “Cabinet order” was signed by White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, not President Donald Trump. It allows “Department of Defense military personnel” to “perform those military protective activities that the Secretary of Defense determines are reasonably necessary” to protect border agents, including “a show or use of force (including lethal force, where necessary), crowd control, temporary detention. and cursory search.”

However an earlier “decision memo” that came to the same recommendations that were contained in the “cabinet memo” was signed by President Trump, according to documents obtained by Newsweek.

There are approximately 5,900 active-duty troops and 2,100 National Guard forces deployed to the U.S.-Mexico border

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