Biden orders army to southern border?

[CosmicCowboy]

seems to be breaking news...not much info yet.

[Winehole23]

Link?

Where did you hear this?

[CosmicCowboy]

President Joe Biden is dispatching 1,500 soldiers to the Southern border to stem the surge of illegal immigrants that’s expected to follow the Thursday expiration of Title 42, a pandemic-era public-health measure that allows Border Patrol to immediately expel illegal immigrants.

[Winehole23]

https://www.nationalreview.com/news/biden-orders-1500-soldiers-to-southern-border-ahead-of-title-42-expiration/

[Winehole23]

So much for open borders Brandon.

[CosmicCowboy]

So much for open borders Brandon.

Sounds like they will basically serve as travel agents.

[Winehole23]

Military personnel will do data entry, warehouse support and other administrative tasks so that U.S. Customs and Border Protection can focus on fieldwork, the officials said. The troops will not do law enforcement work and will be sent down for roughly 90 days, though their presence can be extended if necessary. The officials were not authorized to speak publicly about the request and spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity. It’s unclear when the troops would be deployed.
https://apnews.com/article/biden-immigration-troops-southern-border-68ec4d25fb87b41265019a0ffd20a784

[Winehole23]

Sounds like they will basically serve as travel agents.
Abbott and DeSantis already have that covered.

[CosmicCowboy]

Abbott and DeSantis already have that covered.

As does Homeland "Security". Convoys leaving daily. All aboard!

[ChumpDumper]

As does Homeland "Security". Convoys leaving daily. All aboard!

CC is scared of convoys again.

Evergreen.

[CosmicCowboy]

CC is scared of convoys again.

Evergreen.

Again, Chump. Just a statement of fact. Why are you afraid of facts?

[Winehole23]

As does Homeland "Security". Convoys leaving daily. All aboard!what would you like to see happen?

[Ef-man]

seems to be breaking news...not much info yet.

We have seen this dog and pony show before.

DoD wants nothing to do with interacting with illegals or US citizens. DoD will claim they are freeing up thousands of CBP personnel and providing their personnel with DoD related skills - which will really be just "look busy work" than actual work.

The work they will do is administrative at best and would be more effectively done by contractors rather than DoD personnel.

Just optics and nothing more.

[ChumpDumper]

Again, Chump. Just a statement of fact. Why are you afraid of facts?

I am not afraid of the fact you are afraid of convoys whenever you are told to be afraid of convoys.

[CosmicCowboy]

what would you like to see happen?

Pick a reasonable date in the near future...three weeks? A month? Put the word out with every means possible...we Re CLOSING our southern border. Don't bother coming north. We will NOT let you in and you might as well walk your ass back home. We have set up a remote online application process. Use it. Don't show up un announced and uninvited, we will NOT let you in.

[Winehole23]

Pick a reasonable date in the near future...three weeks? A month? Put the word out with every means possible...we Re CLOSING our southern border. Don't bother coming north. We will NOT let you in and you might as well walk your ass back home. We have set up a remote online application process. Use it. Don't show up un announced and uninvited, we will NOT let you in.that would be a violation of law. we're treaty bound to allow refugees into the US; also to consider their applications, regardless of the manner of entry.

it's a human rights thing, you probably wouldn't understand.

besides, the US Mexico border isn't closeable, nor would it be a good idea to do it: it would be too hard on business.

my personal opinion here, but I think more immigration is objectively desirable, economically and demographically, regardless of the manner of entry. we need more young families in the US, period. there of course should be objective limits to that, but we're nowhere near a desirable replacement rate for US population.

[Winehole23]

Population experts say there is a surefire way to boost fertility rates: let in more immigrants. Migrants tend to be young and produce children at a higher rate (https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/fandd/issues/2020/03/can-immigration-solve-the-demographic-dilemma-peri) than the native-born. But Texas, like the country as a whole (https://econofact.org/the-decline-in-u-s-net-migration), has experienced a decline in net international migration since 2016. Over the prior two decades, Glass said, the country was “saved by immigration.” (This helped boost the economy and keep Social Security and Medicare solvent.) But the end of legal in-country asylum seeking under Trump led to an immediate decline in the Hispanic birth rate, from approximately 2.1 in 2016 to 1.9 in 2020. “It’s pretty clear that immigration was propping up U.S. birth rates until the recent past,” Glass said. “And when that stops, the higher-than-average Hispanic birth rate created by recent migrants stops as well.” Without a steady flow of immigrants, she said, “we are an aging, low-fertility population.”


https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/lawmaker-wants-certain-texans-to-have-more-babies/

[Winehole23]

More deportations, more detentions.

Biden is tougher on immigration than Trump. Same was true of Obama.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E_6HLMfVkAw4DwO?format=jpg&name=900x900






https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EkxoHPmUUAAguzD.jpg:large

[Winehole23]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FSFukfMVEAAPsYi?format=jpg&name=small

[Winehole23]

Record high detentions

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-59019791

[Winehole23]

https://trac.syr.edu/reports/695/include/figure1.png

[Winehole23]

Biden noticeably tougher than Trump on immigration, tbh.

[SnakeBoy]

my personal opinion here, but I think more immigration is objectively desirable, economically and demographically, regardless of the manner of entry. we need more young families in the US, period. there of course should be objective limits to that, but we're nowhere near a desirable replacement rate for US population.

While it's true that stealing (or buying) other countries low skilled labor has always been a positive for the development of this country historically, why do you believe that will remain the case given the rate of advancement in technology/automation?

As far as population rate, do you think it is possible to make up for the shortfall in birth rate by importing young adults from other countries? Why do you believe it is desirable to do so?

[FrostKing]

my personal opinion here, but I think more immigration is objectively desirable, economically and demographically, regardless of the manner of entry. we need more young families in the US, period. there of course should be objective limits to that, but we're nowhere near a desirable replacement rate for US population.
Manner of entry matters because illegals (whether entry or overstaying Visa) are destined to a life of "hiding" and working under the table. We need them to be part of the system.

Also border crossers (in Europe too) tend to be single males. Data illustrates areas with unbalanced male/female ratio have increased depression & crime.

[MultiTroll]

https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/lawmaker-wants-certain-texans-to-have-more-babies/
Instead could existing US citizens, particularly Whites be encouraged to have more children?

[Tyronn Lue]

Manner of entry matters because illegals (whether entry or overstaying Visa) are destined to a life of "hiding" and working under the table. We need them to be part of the system.

Also border crossers (in Europe too) tend to be single males. Data illustrates areas with unbalanced male/female ratio have increased depression & crime.
Don't forget chronic wasting disease. Oh wait, that's deer. I thought you were talking about animals, by the way you indicate they aren't as good as you.

[ducks]

Record high detentions

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-59019791

I hope so
We have record crossings

[SnakeBoy]

Record high detentions

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-59019791

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FgZ-d1bX0AAicNl.png

[monosylab1k]

^lol Snakebot with the massive *ding

[Winehole23]

Instead could existing US citizens, particularly Whites be encouraged to have more children?
That's covered in the article, demographers don't think we can fuck our way out of it. Cost of living is too high for zoomers and too much of the incentives are likely go to the people most able to afford it.

[FrostKing]

Instead could existing US citizens, particularly Whites be encouraged to have more children?
I wouldn't support the decision but banning abortions and restricting sales of contraceptives would help the numbers.

[Winehole23]

While it's true that stealing (or buying) other countries low skilled labor has always been a positive for the development of this country historically, why do you believe that will remain the case given the rate of advancement in technology/automation?

As far as population rate, do you think it is possible to make up for the shortfall in birth rate by importing young adults from other countries? Why do you believe it is desirable to do so?Because it's the most expeditious way to do it.

Not sure I agree with the low skilled generalization, iirc, the mean level of education of central American immigrants is comparable to native Texans.

[Winehole23]

Not sure I agree that central Americans are intrinisically less desirable and educable than other immigrants, why do you seem to think so, SB?

[Winehole23]

I mean sure, south Asians and Chinese tend to be more educated than native Estadounidenses, maybe you'd like to see more of them?

[FrostKing]

There is a balance between highly educated and actually setting roots in America. People escaping hardship are more likely to stay.

[velik_m]

I wouldn't support the decision but banning abortions and restricting sales of contraceptives would help the numbers.

No it wouldn't. It would just make them more dangerous and unsafe, potentially risking health and lives of women.

What would help is the government offsetting major costs of having kids. Like government funded maternity and paternity leaves, government funded quality schooling, government funded healthcare for kids and their parents...

[Winehole23]

The narrative that Biden is lax on immigration is ridiculously overblown.

[Winehole23]

Would the caravans have been so scary if Trump hadn't permitted them to cross the border?

[ElNono]

Looks like Operation Lonestar was an epic failure, and the Federal government needs to step in...

[leemajors]

No it wouldn't. It would just make them more dangerous and unsafe, potentially risking health and lives of women.

What would help is the government offsetting major costs of having kids. Like government funded maternity and paternity leaves, government funded quality schooling, government funded healthcare for kids and their parents...

Childcare is the most expensive thing since middle/working class families need both parents working to survive. My daughter is 18, but pre kinder childcare was $800/mo back then. Once she got into kinder, I moved into a role working 5am-2pm so I could pick her up after school and save a lot of money.

[Winehole23]

Being assholes to immigrants is bad for science and tech.



The United States may want to choke off vital supplies of hi-tech gear, especially advanced semiconductors, to China. But, thanks to a “red scare” about industrial espionage and intellectual property theft that has specifically targeted ethnic Chinese researchers, it is inadvertently repatriating scientific talent to the mainland on a massive scale.



It’s an influx of refugees all right, but with PhDs and other advanced degrees, and many even with tenures back in the US. Forget Beijing’s Thousand Talents Plan or Overseas High-Level Talent Recruitment Programmes. The US government is recruiting for China by creating a climate of fear among an ethnic group of researchers through selective prosecution, while casting hundreds under suspicion and killing the careers of many.



In a new analysis (https://www.cato.org/blog/abandoning-us-more-scientists-go-china) of Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) data, the conservative Cato Institute found that in 2021, the US lost published research scientists to other countries, while China gained more than 2,408.



“This was a remarkable turnaround from as recently as 2017 when the United States picked up 4,292 scientists and China picked up just 116,” it said. “The rest of the OECD and China have both surpassed the United States for net inflow of scientific authors.”

https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3219167/red-scare-us-causes-multi-year-flood-refugees-phds-china

[Winehole23]

"This is the issue of the future, because this is going to become the first-order issue for all kinds of industries in America," Lant Pritchett, a development economist and RISE Research director at Oxford University's Blavatnik School of Government, told me. "They just won't be able to attract workers."


Politicians have suggested various ways to encourage people to have more children: "We will support baby bonuses for a new baby boom," former President Donald Trump said at a conference (https://www.c-span.org/video/?526456-1/president-trump-speaks-cpac) in March. But even if these policies went into effect, we'd still have to wait for those kids to grow up before they could enter the workforce. The labor imbalance is already here, and the economy needs more workers now. That's why a growing number of demographers, economists (https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/fandd/issues/2020/03/can-immigration-solve-the-demographic-dilemma-peri#author), and business executives (https://rollcall.com/2021/08/13/business-leaders-pressure-congress-for-immigration-changes/) support letting more immigrants into the US as a more immediate way to fill in the gaps. President Joe Biden's economic advisors even said in March that more legal immigration (https://www.reuters.com/world/us/more-immigrants-paid-childcare-key-economic-growth-white-house-says-2023-03-20/) is needed to boost the economy. And while immigration is a politically touchy solution, the quickly aging US economy is running out of options to keep itself afloat.


"The only solution is more workers," Pritchett said.
https://www.businessinsider.com/us-population-decline-worker-shortage-labor-birth-rates-immigration-economy-2023-5

[Winehole23]

And there's already evidence that immigrants can help boost local economies — and transform entire cities. Immigrants are 80% more likely to start a business (https://www.wbur.org/news/2022/05/09/immigrants-are-80-more-likely-to-start-businesses-in-the-u-s-than-native-born-citizens-study-finds) than people born in the US, and recent data shows that they've started more than 25% of businesses in seven of the eight fastest-growing sectors of the US economy (https://www.newamericaneconomy.org/issues/entrepreneurship/). Because of that, (https://insight.kellogg.northwestern.edu/article/immigrants-to-the-u-s-create-more-jobs-than-they-take)research (https://insight.kellogg.northwestern.edu/article/immigrants-to-the-u-s-create-more-jobs-than-they-take) has found that immigrants actually create more jobs than they take. Plus, across the US, several key industries — including agriculture (https://www.businessinsider.com/industries-reliant-on-immigrants-undocumented-workers-have-worst-labor-shortages-2021-11), meatpacking (https://www.wfyi.org/news/articles/meatpacking-jobs-immigrants-covid), manufacturing, and healthcare — depend on immigrant labor (https://www.axios.com/2019/03/12/immigration-workers-foreign-born-economy-us). And if we boost immigration rates, the incoming workers could help ease labor shortages in these critical fields.

From central Indiana (https://fox59.com/news/politics/business-leaders-want-more-immigrants-in-indiana-to-combat-labor-shortage/) to New York City (https://www.crainsnewyork.com/economy/56-percent-drop-immigration-hampering-new-yorks-pandemic-recovery), businesses are struggling because they can't hire enough workers to fill their open roles. "If we don't do this and have a positive conversation about immigration today, it will continue to crush Hoosier households and economy," Patrick Tamm, the president and CEO of the Indiana Restaurant and Lodging Association, told a local publication (https://fox59.com/news/politics/business-leaders-want-more-immigrants-in-indiana-to-combat-labor-shortage/).

Take Utica, New York. The city's population (https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/uticacitynewyork/LND110210) declined from 100,410 people in 1960 to just over 60,500 in 2000. But instead of facing extinction, the postindustrial city's population slowly began rebounding in the 1990s (https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/06/03/realestate/utica-burma-refugees.html) with the arrival of Bosnian immigrants fleeing the Yugoslav Wars, who were followed by refugees from Myanmar in the 2000s and, more recently, Bantu refugees from Somalia. The city's relatively low cost of living has made it a hub for people fleeing conflicts around the world, who resettle with the help of refugee-aid organizations. Though the city's population still hovers around 60,000, it would be much lower if not for the resettled refugees and their families who now make up about 25% of Utica's population.

"The refugee population has helped the city's economy tremendously," Brian Thomas, the commissioner of Utica's Department of Urban and Economic Development, told CNBC (https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/02/how-refugees-continue-boosting-new-yorks-rust-belt-economy.html).

[CosmicCowboy]

I am not against immigration but our current laws allow us to CHOOSE which immigrants we want. Opening immigration to whoever the fuck can walk across the border is just dumb.

[Winehole23]

I am not against immigration but our current laws allow us to CHOOSE which immigrants we want. Opening immigration to whoever the fuck can walk across the border is just dumb.I disagree. I don't share your bias against central Americans.

[koriwhat]

Biden doesn't think they're sending their best tbh... Ol' Racist Joe Bitchass Biden.

[Trainwreck2100]

I am not against immigration but our current laws allow us to CHOOSE which immigrants we want. Opening immigration to whoever the fuck can walk across the border is just dumb.

they can walk across the border and say you quiero asylum and we can't do shit, based off law and treaty.

[koriwhat]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FgZ-d1bX0AAicNl.png

That bitch is such a dramatic fraud

[Dirks_Finale]

That bitch is such a dramatic fraud

Still waiting for her outrage over migrants in "cages" under Sleepy Joe.

[Adam Lambert]

Still waiting for her outrage over migrants in "cages" under Sleepy Joe.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/77-democrats-criticize-biden-border-asylum-policy-rcna67617

Womp womp

[Adam Lambert]

My favorite part of the article:


Biden has faced intense criticism over his border policies from both parties, with Republicans saying they are unwilling to negotiate on immigration legislation or more funding for border initiatives until the administration does more to secure the border.

"We will not support your efforts to secure the border until you do more to secure the border."

And you morons lap it up.

[FrostKing]

My favorite part of the article:



"We will not support your efforts to secure the border until you do more to secure the border."

And you morons lap it up.
"more funding for border initiatives" =/= secure the border

We need more funds...to house and process illegals?

[Dirks_Finale]

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/77-democrats-criticize-biden-border-asylum-policy-rcna67617

Womp womp


Why no subtle little letter to Trump? Instead, fake outrage theatrics, as usual for the Democrats. :rolleyes:rolleyes:rolleyes:rolleyes

[Dirks_Finale]

"more funding for border initiatives" =/= secure the border

We need more funds...to house and process illegals?

Well, they are sending a few thousand troops to the border to act as Walmart type greeters. Like that they can just bypass processing/housing them. Smile and wave campaign.

[monosylab1k]

Why no subtle little letter to Trump? Instead, fake outrage theatrics, as usual for the Democrats. :rolleyes:rolleyes:rolleyes:rolleyes
lol, pot meet kettle

My favorite part of the article:



"We will not support your efforts to secure the border until you do more to secure the border."

And you morons lap it up.

[monosylab1k]

"more funding for border initiatives" =/= secure the border

We need more funds...to house and process illegals?

lol “we”, says the Polack

[daboom1]

https://twitter.com/TheRightMelissa/status/1654555815486062593?t

[Adam Lambert]

Why no subtle little letter to Trump? Instead, fake outrage theatrics, as usual for the Democrats. :rolleyes:rolleyes:rolleyes:rolleyes

Not sure what evidence you have that the outrage was fake. Maybe you don't relate to empathy.

And GTFO with your suggestion that Republicans don't engage in outrage theater, your VP candidate bought an NFL ticket for a game he never intended to sit through just to stage a butthurt walkout over players kneeling, and you morons have been angry about a beer can for a solid month. :lmao More projection from conservatives.

[Adam Lambert]

https://twitter.com/TheRightMelissa/status/1654555815486062593?t

:tu

:lol Scared Qhris living scared. "Save us, Marjorie!"

[Splits]

:tu

:lol Scared Qhris living scared. "Save us, Marjorie!"

Dishonest tweeter uses pic from 2018, Qhris duped: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/karlazabludovsky/caravan-honduras-mexico-immigration-trum

[ElNono]

https://twitter.com/TheRightMelissa/status/1654555815486062593?t

:tu:tu:tu:tu:tu

[Winehole23]

Open borders Brandon strikes again.

1656103378307489797

1656104500224991232

1656106412152324096

[Winehole23]

Asylum seeking about to get much more punitive.

[Winehole23]

Lawfare looks at the deployment through the lens of emergency powers. One recurring theme is emergency authorization for activities that are already well-founded legally.


https://www.lawfareblog.com/sites/default/files/190223-D-PB383-017.jpg


Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Joe Dunford tour a section of the U.S.-Mexico border in 2019. (Joint Chiefs of Staff / Dominique A. Pineiro, https://www.jcs.mil/Media/Photos/igphoto/2002092976/)













On May 2, the Department of Defense announced that an additional 1,500 active-duty soldiers and Marines will be sent to the southern border (https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-live-pentagon-holds-briefing-amid-reports-that-troops-will-be-sent-to-u-s-southern-border) to support the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). There have been reports (https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-political-scene/the-disillusionment-of-a-young-biden-official) for some time about Biden’s adoption of Trump-era southern border policies. The same can be said of the striking similarities between how the Trump and Biden administrations use law (both emergency and non-emergency powers) to sustain the continued deployment of thousands of military personnel at the southern border.

Last week the Defense Department announced that Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin approved a 90-day deployment of 1,500 active-duty personnel in response to a request for assistance (https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3381484/dod-statement-attributed-to-pentagon-press-secretary-brig-gen-pat-ryder/) from DHS, the usual forcing mechanism (https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-21-356) for deployments at the southern border. These personnel will provide “ground-based detection and monitoring,” “data entry,” and “warehouse support.” And the public was informed that the Defense Department will try to replace these active-duty forces with reserve component (for example, Army Reserve or Army National Guard) personnel and contracted support. Importantly, these 1,500 personnel won’t be alone. There are already 2,500 military personnel (https://www.dhs.gov/news/2023/05/02/dhs-statement-request-additional-dod-support-southwest-border) providing “detection and monitoring” and “aviation support” to DHS at the southern border.

On his first day in office, President Biden signed Proclamation 10142 (https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/01/27/2021-01922/termination-of-emergency-with-respect-to-the-southern-border-of-the-united-states-and-redirection-of), which terminated the national emergency (https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2019/02/20/2019-03011/declaring-a-national-emergency-concerning-the-southern-border-of-the-united-states) declared by President Trump at the southern border. The proclamation largely criticized the border wall, which in part was built using a construction authority (10 U.S.C. § 2808) that Trump made available through the emergency declaration. But this declaration did more than just pave the way to building a wall. It also made available 10 U.S.C. § 12302 (https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=(title:10%20section:12302%20edition :prelim)%20OR%20(granuleid:USC-prelim-title10-section12302)&f=treesort&edition=prelim&num=0&jumpTo=true). This statute authorizes the secretaries of the military departments, in response to a national emergency, to order any member or unit of any reserve component (including National Guard personnel) to active duty, without their consent, for no longer than two years. It’s likely, though reliable numbers are not readily available, that at least some of the thousands (https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-21-356) of National Guard personnel sent to the border during the Trump administration were deployed under this authority.

Biden took the first step toward a return to emergency authority on Dec. 15, 2021. In Executive Order 14059, he found that (https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/12/17/2021-27505/imposing-sanctions-on-foreign-persons-involved-in-the-global-illicit-drug-trade) “international drug trafficking ... constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States.” In response, he ordered the secretary of the treasury to impose specified sanctions and restricted the entry of noncitizens who qualified for such sanctions. On April 27, 2023, in Executive Order 14097 (https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/05/01/2023-09318/authority-to-order-the-ready-reserve-of-the-armed-forces-to-active-duty-to-address-international), Biden again made the authority provided in § 12302 available to respond to this emergency.

Swapping out emergency authority to build a wall for emergency authority to sanction narcotraffickers, Executive Order 14097 in all but name resuscitates the operational authorities provided by Trump’s executive order. There is certainly a difference in rhetoric and policy focus—Trump’s centered on migration, Biden’s on drug trafficking. But as a legal matter, they both uncorked nearly unrestricted, easy access to military personnel for the southern border.



Statutory Authority for Southern Border Military Deployments


Notwithstanding all the above, there’s actually very little in the way of emergency authority that the Defense Department needs to support DHS at the southern border. The relevant statutes authorizing Defense Department operational support have been on the books for decades. In this regard, the Trump administration was exceptional only in the number of personnel deployed under this legal framework.


While we aren’t told much about the law governing this newest 1,500-person deployment, we can stitch together a pretty detailed picture from publicly available information. I’ll approach it through the three buckets of legal questions relevant to analyzing Defense Department operational support to another federal agency: (a) What’s the operational authority for the activities that military personnel will perform? (b) What’s the mobilization authority under which the personnel will operate? and (c) What appropriation is legally available to fund the operation?


https://www.lawfareblog.com/bidens-resurrection-emergency-powers-southern-border

[Winehole23]

What about “data entry” and “warehouse support”? A few options seem available. For the Defense Department to use § 274, there must be some operation of equipment. That could plausibly include a soldier using a computer. Under this theory, the Defense Department would resort to 10 U.S.C. § 274(c), a catch-all for any support that doesn’t involve direct participation in law enforcement activities. There doesn’t seem to be a plausible way for warehouse support to fit here, unless using a hand truck or forklift constitutes using equipment. A capacious fallback, however, would be § 1059 (https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/6395/text) of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2016. It provides, in pertinent part, that the secretary of defense may support Customs and Border Protection “for purposes of increasing ongoing efforts to secure the southern land border of the United States” through, for example, the “deployment of members and units of the regular and reserve components of the Armed Forces to the southern land border of the United States.” That’s an incredibly broad authorization. Whatever is true about the probity of using troops as factotums and warehouse workers, both duties are certainly a deployment to the southern land border.

[Winehole23]

There’s a truly dizzying array of mobilization authorities, and no shortage (https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-04-1031) of personnel issues, due to the way in which they interact and how they’ve been implemented by the Defense Department and the military departments. Thankfully, at least in the near term, this is likely to be the most straightforward part of the deployment. The Defense Department says that the 1,500 troops will be active-duty forces, meaning they don’t require an additional or separate mobilization for this support mission. But on the theory that, much like Chekov’s gun, a legal authority once made available must be used, I expect the Defense Department to use Biden’s proclamation to mobilize National Guard or other reserve component personnel under § 12302 in the future.

[Winehole23]

“One must never place a loaded rifle on the stage if it isn’t going to go off. It’s wrong to make promises you don’t mean to keep.”

[Winehole23]

Factually, it seems like a difficult case to make for at least some of the support functions. The first criterion certainly doesn’t apply to any of them (none of this is part of a steady-state Defense Department mission). And it seems like a stretch, at best, to say that young troops need training in how to use a computer or move supplies in a warehouse. But these are factual judgment calls, and senior Defense Department officials have readily asserted (https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/mattis-calls-deployment-to-the-border-great-training-as-he-visits-troops-in-texas/2018/11/14/b2e27070-e83e-11e8-bd89-eecf3b178206_story.html) a training value for similar duties in the past.

[Winehole23]

It’s entirely correct, as DHS notes, that the Department of Defense has for the vast majority of the past two decades provided support at the southern border. But easy access to any component of the Defense Department appears to be turning into a new normal, made available under shifting but substantially similar emergency declarations. Thousands of military personnel are consistently deployed to the border. And all of it is funded by the Defense Department. All of which is to say that, in an increasingly substantial way from which it may be increasingly difficult to retreat, U.S. border security has become a Defense Department mission.

[Winehole23]

.