Here’s something that doesn’t get enough scrutiny in all the hand-wringing about America’s latest political spectacle: President Donald Trump has already enmeshed the United States military in domestic law enforcement operations involving immigration to an unprecedented degree. He has authorized a major military buildup at the border. He has maximized the use of military planes for deportations, complete with the White House pumping out imagery of migrants getting frog-marched onto souped-up military aircraft. (Trump’s Domestic Use of Military Set to Get Worse, Leaked Memo Shows)
But that’s just the opening act. The memo—obtained by The New Republic—provides a glimpse into the thinking of top officials as they seek to involve the Defense Department more deeply in these domestic operations, and it has unnerved experts who believe it portends a frightening escalation. (Trump’s Domestic Use of Military Set to Get Worse, Leaked Memo Shows) This leaked Department of Homeland Security memo reveals something rather extraordinary: DHS is urging top Pentagon officials to prioritize using the military against illegal immigration to a substantially greater and unprecedented degree, and that discussions are underway to accomplish that, with Defense Secretary Hegseth’s blessing.
What We’re Really Witnessing 🔍
The memo tells us aligning both agencies this way “is a priority of POTUS,” meaning Trump. But let’s pause and think about what this actually represents. This memo is talking about turning internal homeland security into a regular Defense Department activity, which it is not. It’s not just about the border anymore. The document suggests that DHS is anticipating many more uses of the military in urban centers, noting that L.A.-style operations may be needed “for years to come.” (5 Ways the Trump Administration Is Militarizing Our Immigration System)
This isn’t some abstract policy shift. President Donald Trump has already enmeshed the United States military in domestic law enforcement operations involving immigration to an unprecedented degree… He sent the National Guard into Los Angeles amid large-scale protests there—and then sent in the Marines. The precedent is being set in real time.
The Legal Gymnastics 🏛️
What makes this particularly fascinating is how it’s being justified. President Donald Trump has turned a 60-foot-wide strip of federal land that spans three states on the southern border into a “military installation” to “address the emergency” he previously declared over unlawful immigration and drug trafficking. Trump’s memo authorizing this action seems designed to sidestep the Posse Comitatus Act, which normally bars federal armed forces from conducting domestic law enforcement. (The Posse Comitatus Act Explained)
The legal contortions are remarkable. Having turned much of the southern border into a “military installation,” the administration now takes the position that anyone crossing the border without authorization in those areas is not just violating immigration law but also trespassing on a military installation. Federal troops thus have a legitimate military reason, the argument goes, to apprehend, search, and detain migrants without violating the Posse Comitatus Act and without the president needing to invoke the Insurrection Act at all.
The Global Perspective 🌍
From outside America’s borders, this looks like something altogether different from typical immigration enforcement. The estimated price tag of the legislation is around $150 billion between now and 2029—an annual average of $37.5 billion, which is higher than the military expenditure of all but 15 countries. This figure is more than the annual military budget of Italy, which at $30.8 billion, is the world’s 16th highest defense spender for this year (Trump immigration enforcement push comes with military flourish – Roll Call), and is also higher than military spending for Israel ($30 billion), the Netherlands ($27 billion) and Brazil ($26.1 billion).
The international reaction has been predictably sharp. “This is going to have a global impact, as well, on our reputation in the world,” she said. “And we’re basically closing our doors for immigrants, and it’s very unfortunate that this type of policy has become normalized.” (Executive and Regulatory Actions Under the Second Trump Administration) But the criticism runs deeper than just travel bans. The ban has attracted criticism from foreign leaders as well as international groups, with Amnesty International calling it “discriminatory, racist, and downright cruel.”
Charles’ Counterpoint ⚖️
Here’s what strikes me as most telling: this isn’t really about immigration at all. It’s about normalizing something much more fundamental. In a sense, the administration seems to be supercharging immigration “invasion” agitprop to manufacture a sense of national trauma similar to the one that arose after the September 11 attacks. That led to another type of war-on-terror hyper-militarization at home (as well as abroad). The administration seems determined to outdo that—this time against the new internal enemy.
The experts are saying what needs to be said more plainly: “Normalizing routine military support to law enforcement could create a kind of domestic ‘Forever War,’ but one that is uniquely dangerous,” the Brennan Center’s Nunn told me. “As the Founders well understood, a military that is turned inward is a threat to both democracy and individual liberty.”
What we’re witnessing isn’t just aggressive immigration enforcement. It’s the systematic erosion of a principle that’s been fundamental to American governance since 1878: The Posse Comitatus Act bars federal troops from participating in civilian law enforcement except when expressly authorized by law. This 147-year-old law embodies an American tradition that sees military interference in civilian affairs as a threat to both democracy and personal liberty. (Posse Comitatus Act – Wikipedia)
The cleverness of this approach is that it’s using immigration—an issue that splits the American public—as the vehicle for something much more sweeping. “The memo is alarming, because it speaks to the intent to use the military within the United States at a level not seen since Japanese internment,” Carrie Lee, senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund, told me. “The military is the most powerful, coercive tool our country has. We don’t want the military doing law enforcement.”
But perhaps that’s exactly the point. Once you’ve normalized the military as a domestic law enforcement tool for one purpose, it becomes rather easier to deploy it for others. That’s the counterpoint that seems to be getting lost in all the debate about deportation numbers and border security: the precedent being set here extends far beyond immigration policy.
From the outside looking in, what America is doing looks less like immigration enforcement and more like preparing for something else entirely. The question worth asking isn’t whether this policy will stop illegal border crossings. It’s what happens when a country decides its military should be in the business of policing its own citizens.
