“DOD is transitioning its support at the southwestern border from hardening ports of entry to mobile surveillance and detection, as well as concertina wire emplacement between ports of entry,”
“The military is prohibited by law from performing domestic law enforcement tasks but has periodically provided assistance to civilian border security authorities.”
How do these not conflict?
Personally, I’m happy to see that we’re finally paying attention to keeping concertinas out of the country. Have you heard what those things can do in the wrong hands?
The Pentagon’s “find a job and fill it” and Trump’s promise to militarize the southern border, a marriage. This does not in principle look good for keeping the military out of domestic business. On the other hand, at least in the short term, it looks to further weaken the rationalizations for building a wall and a government shut down.
It’s not just a job! It’s a shameless political adventure!
Can you spell M•I•S•S•I•O•N C•R•E•E•P?
Protecting the border is a military job, but that’s when it’s framed as an invasion by a military force. It’s a bit squishier to use “protect the border” to keep civilians out, and it’s probably illegal to use it to keep asylum seekers out. As long as they are not using soldiers to detain people coming across the border it’s legal to have the troops doing things to shore up the border. How that works with remote surveillance I’m not sure, since they will see someone cross and then hand off to Border Patrol…if you look at it as doing law enforcement it’s not allowed, but if it’s just setting cameras up and sending the data to BP I’m not sure (it can probably be argued as legal, but IANAL).
I’m not addressing the morality here, or the wastefulness of having soldiers on the border doing this stuff, just what the likely arguments are for allowing soldiers to do work down there. The entire program is stupid and wrong in my opinion.
Can the military be used to set up speed traps as well? Using the logic they are using to justify this, the military could be used to do all sorts of different things that actually fall under regular law enforcement.
If only the military could be convinced to deploy squadrons of troops to “unenwalled” areas (look mattinpa: new made up word!) dressed in Village People costumes to perform the Y-M-C-A song and dance routine in support of border security enhancement as a deterrent… not yet a wall, but it’s a start!
Time to send in 500 military advisors.
If you’re on a military post, then MPs do run the speed traps. Before it closed, I had a trip to Fort McClellen which was the home of the MP school.
While there, I passed a speed trap. After passing it, the driver in front of me sped up - and got caught in the second speed trap around the bend. There were cars pulled over at the third and fourth traps too. It turns out there were 10 speed traps in a row - the MP school was conducting on-the-job training monitoring real traffic - and were catching the visitors that didn’t know any better.
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When I saw this statement by the Pentagon, my first reaction was that trump’s administration was preparing for the time the Border Patrol essentially ceases to exist because of the extended trump shutdown.
The head of the Border Patrol’s Union may love trump, but that love won’t pay people’s mortgages or utility bills.
No, that is a law enforcement function (with the exception @greylady mentioned, where the MPs are effectively the police on a base). They can’t make an arrest, they can’t do any of the policing functions, actions like that violate the Constitution. That’s why Republicans have insisted on keeping terrorists at Guantanamo, because as soon as they come into the country they are required to deal with them through the judicial system instead of the military.
Again, I’m not defending, just informing…and, I doubt that Trump and the Republicans care about the law here, but fortunately the military still does (so far).
It’s a yuge problem, accordion to Chiselin’ Trump.
I know an alternate spelling of the second word: T•r•u•m•p.
Indeed.
Oh, now, that is too funny!
I had not seen it before. Thanks for sharing.