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A soldier from the 19th Engineer Battalion based in Kentucky looks across the Rio Grande River from Laredo, Texas, to Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, where a group of people strolls along the banks of the river. November 17, 2018.(Photo: Thomas Watkins, AFP / Getty Images)
WASHINGTON – The White House has authorized active military troops stationed along the south-western border to use lethal force, if necessary, to a significant escalation of the support role they had been given, which could violate an armed conflict. 140 years old law. generally forbids the army to operate within US borders.
White House Chief of Staff John Kelly signed a memo Tuesday night extending the mission of 5,800 troops to the protection of customs and border protection officers. This represents a dramatic change in the orders given to troops currently deployed in California, Arizona and Texas, who had been align the border with accordion wires and provide only logistical support to CBP personnel.
US Secretary of Defense James Mattis confirmed the new guidelines to reporters Wednesday, but downplayed the level of interaction his troops will have with the migrants. He added that most of the troops did not carry weapons and that the army would stay away from civilian law enforcement functions, such as arrests, prohibited under the law "Posse Comitatus".
The law prohibits the federal government from using the armed forces in an internal police role, except in situations expressly authorized by the Constitution or Congress.
Mattis pointed out that he would use his expanded authorities solely in response to a specific and detailed request from Secretary of Homeland Security, Kirstjen Nielsen, and that no one has yet been made.
"I now have the power to do more," Mattis told the press. "Now we'll see what she's asking me for."
The memo was first reported by the Military Times.
The assurances given by Mattis have not deterred criticism from pressure groups concerned about Trump's increasingly dangerous acts and speeches as thousands of migrants – mainly from Central America – queue up in Tijuana, in Mexico and elsewhere to try to enter the country to seek asylum. The president had previously suggested that troops be allowed to shoot the migrants if any of them were throwing stones at US troops, but neither the Pentagon nor the Department of Homeland Security has been allowed to shoot. confirmed this statement.
With the new orders, Michael Breen, president of Human Rights First, said that the White House "has shown serious" against the migrants and created a hostile environment that could lead to deadly clashes.
"This legally dubious" Cabinet Order "creates confusion, undermines morale and can very well lead to violence," said Breen. "Americans should be grateful that those currently serving are likely to be more judgmental than their commander-in-chief."
Public Citizen, a liberal rights group based in Washington, DC, filed a Freedom of Information Act petition to release Kelly's decision to determine whether it violated the Posse Comitatus Act .
"The authorization of the military to use force within national borders has serious consequences for a nation under civilian rule," said Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen. "Kelly 's order should be released immediately so that the public understands exactly what it has authorized, if the Trump administration breaks the law and what risk of violence may await plaintiffs." asylum."
Trump, who spends the Thanksgiving holiday at his Palm Beach, Florida resort, ordered troops to the border after the rumor that a Central American caravan was making its way to the US border. In the run-up to the mid-term elections, he repeatedly portrayed the caravan as an "invasion" and came back to the issue in a tweet Wednesday night.
"There are a lot of CRIMINELS in the caravan, we'll stop them, Catch and Detain!" Trump posted on Twitter. "Judicial activism, committed by people who know nothing about the safety and security of our citizens, puts our country in great danger, it is not good!"
Trump was probably referring to a California judge's ruling on Monday, which put an end to the administration's attempts to ban migrants who enter the country illegally from seeking asylum.
The US military has already been deployed in the country to carry out its law enforcement duties, but only under laws passed by Congress.
In 1991, Congress passed legislation allowing the Pentagon to assist law enforcement officials at the federal and national levels in national drug operations. This led to an incident in Texas in 1997 during which a navy on a drug watchdog mission shot and killed an 18-year-old who was raising goats on the family ranch.
A report from the Congressional Research Service, published in April, concluded that the army could be deployed, but only if it was limited to "certain types of support" for law enforcement agencies, such as air surveillance, the use of equipment, the sharing of information and the provision of advice.
However, the report indicates that the administration would face legal difficulties if it instructed the army to carry out law enforcement activities.
"There must be a constitutional or legal power to use federal troops as part of law enforcement to prevent foreigners from illegally entering the country, to apprehend gang members or to to seize contraband goods, "according to the report.
Read or share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/11/21/white-house-approves-military-use-lethal-force-border-migrant-caravan/2082306002/
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