The National Guard has been involved in border security since the George W. Bush administration, but currently the military takes part only in non-law-enforcement activities like surveillance, vehicle maintenance, and installing barbed wire, according to the AP.
Trump and his advisers have repeatedly talked about using the military to execute his deportation plans, though the Posse Comitatus Act says the U.S. military can’t be deployed against civilians. In an interview with Time magazine, Trump said that doesn’t matter because “well, these aren’t civilians. These are people that aren’t legally in our country. This is an invasion of our country.”
On the campaign trail, Trump said he would invoke the Alien Enemies Act, which lets the president deport noncitizens from countries that the U.S. is at war with. The U.S. is not currently in any declared war, but the Trump administration may try to argue that the 1798 law can be invoked because the so-called migrant invasion amounts to foreign aggression.
Many interpreted a single-word Truth Social post from Trump on November 18 as confirmation that his plans involve a national-emergency declaration and deploying the military. The Hill explains:
On his Truth Social site, Trump at 4:03 a.m. EST reposted Tom Fitton, the president of Judicial Watch, a conservative organization that’s been active both in courts and on social media regarding a number of culture war issues, including questioning the legitimacy of elections.
“GOOD NEWS: Reports are the incoming @RealDonaldTrump administration prepared to declare a national emergency and will use military assets to reverse the Biden invasion through a mass deportation program,” Fitton wrote.
Trump labeled this “TRUE!!!”
